The Cover Up Syndrome
by JeeDang2000
Summary: A dark secret lives in the bowels of MiB's past, suddenly reveals itself in the present.
1. Default Chapter

The Cover Up Syndrome by JeeDang2000@yahoo.com  
  
I no longer existed. No one knew me, and if they did, they  
  
were either dead or left wondering if I even lived.  
  
All traces of me vanished. Any file or record on me was  
  
quickly confinscated and destroyed. Efforts went as far as to purge  
  
my fellow MiB agents of any memory of me, including the seniors who  
  
were closest friends and confidants.  
  
But it didn't stop there. After neuralizing or surgically  
  
removing memories of those who helped me carry out the operation, I  
  
created a new identity for which I would take on. Isolating myself  
  
for a year in an unknown chamber deep within the bowels of MiB, I  
  
crafted and demised. I changed my appearance (which was harder than  
  
it sounds) and convoluted my personality inside out.  
  
You can't imagine the pains I took upon myself as I sat every  
  
night at my large bedroom mirror, rehersing every part of my newly  
  
acquired profile. It had to be perfect. No one must even have a hint  
  
of deja vu by a mistake on my part.  
  
Now you must think that being cooped up for a year in  
  
solitude would drive a man mad, but I was determined to keep my  
  
sanity as I worked upon myself. I read the works of Shakespeare, of  
  
the philosophy of Aristotle, as well as the literature of species  
  
long extinct in the galaxy and beyond. Only books were my sole  
  
companions during that lonely year. These and the things I needed to  
  
keep the spark of life within me were supplied by an android the  
  
Baltians gave me (yes, there truly were 6 agents there that night)  
  
that could search on its own and store the goods inside itself. Its  
  
strong, graceful structure was covered with chemicells, that would  
  
allow it to blend into its environment and thus avoid detection.  
  
I was not totally cut from the MiB world. With my extensive  
  
knowledge of the organization's systems I was able to hack into files  
  
and even the surveillance undetected. 6 months prior to the end of my  
  
self-captivity, I let my prescence be known to MiB without actually  
  
meetin anyone.  
  
At first everyone thought my message was a glitch. But with  
  
persistant contact with them, as well as temporary removal of some  
  
files, they finally took me seriously and tried desperately to search  
  
me out. I laughed to myself as I watched them bumble about, trying to  
  
track me. Little did they know the source of their ordeal was lying  
  
in the bosom of MiB itself.  
  
After a couple weeks they gave up the chase, due to the fact  
  
that their search was fruitless and that I didn't proceed with  
  
further disruption of their well formed society. And I had no  
  
intention to be a disruption either. A mutual bond was held between  
  
us and I became a trusted advisor to certain problems they had.  
  
The relationship continued for 3 weeks, until I decided to  
  
get a little bolder.  
  
Using the P.A. system, I spoke to them (of course my voice  
  
changed since those last 7 months). You can imagine the panic  
  
throughout MiB and its alien tourists!!  
  
After my little performance over the speakers, the Head  
  
Committee of MiB (the authoritative group for the organization formed  
  
by the foolish, undecisive seniors) argued that I should never pull a  
  
stunt like that again. However, glad of associating my prescence with  
  
a voice, they allowed me to contact them by P.A., but only to them in  
  
a specific office.  
  
Finally 6 months passed and I found my identity perfected.  
  
Now it was time for the grand unveiling.  
  
After another round of neuralization and brain surgery, with  
  
the help of my android, we manage to secure a position for me within  
  
the organization. No one remembered ever having a phantom of MiB. To  
  
them, I always had been there since the beginning.  
  
So I worked there, a part of their group, but an outsider as  
  
well. I was a man without a world. Neither civilizationnor MiB  
  
claimed me. And it was that way for many years, until one day...  
  
Part 2 Jay shook his head as he stared at the lab's door. "I don't  
  
like it. I mean with Elle it's different. I somewhat trust her. But  
  
it's out of the question with Zeeltor. What if he uses one of his  
  
torture inventions on me?"  
  
Kay smirked. "Sounds like you got a bad case of paranoia.  
  
Still, don't worry too much. Most of the instruments he'll be using  
  
are scanners."  
  
His partner breathed a sigh of relief. "Then it's not gonna  
  
be that bad, huh?"  
  
"Not really, unless you count that new, powerful scanner he  
  
developed. Some say it's so strong that it'll leave your skin glowing-  
  
in-the dark for weeks."  
  
Jay's eyes widened. "Say what!?!"  
  
The door to the lab opened and a dazed Agent U came stumbling  
  
out.  
  
"You're next, Slick," Kay said as he shoved a very reluctant  
  
Jay into the lab.  
  
X gazed at his watch and scowled. "I don't see why we have to  
  
do this. I got better things to do than help Zeeltor break in his new  
  
toys."  
  
Elle leaned against the wall. "Well you know the company  
  
policy, everyone has to have an examination every 6 months. And with  
  
Zeeltor, you can be sure that he won't let us forget it."  
  
"Still there's no point to these for the aliens. You humans  
  
on the other hand definately need to. There always something wrong  
  
with you, partically what's going on in those little skulls of  
  
yours," X said smugly.  
  
Elle frowned. "I hope Zeeltor uses something painful to check  
  
those big ears."  
  
Lucy growled unhappily.  
  
"Sorry girl, but daddy's got to work today." Zeeltor turned  
  
away from the petri dish back to the brain scans clamped unto light  
  
boxes.  
  
His pet bacteria whimpered.  
  
Zeeltor shook his head and continued the medical report.  
  
Beside this, he had much more work to finish. Such are the endless  
  
chores expected of the Chief Medical Officer. And it wasn't an easy  
  
title to uphold either. As usual, Jay panicked at every tool he took  
  
out. In one of his tantrums he had knocked the new scanner he had  
  
made and bathed Lucy with its light. The light didn't have any affect  
  
on human skin, as Jay had believed, but it left Lucy as the only glow-  
  
in-the-dark Flutavian bacteria.  
  
The door opened and Agent H entered. He was the CMO for the  
  
night shift. In his arms was yet another pile of scans. "Looks like  
  
yet another busy night," he grumbled as he placed his stack next to  
  
Zeeltor's. He strode to the alien medic then spotted the new scanner.  
  
He frowned. "I did expect that my old lab would change, but not my  
  
own equipment as well."  
  
Zeeltor glanced at H's direction then returned back to the  
  
scans. "Sorry I had to change some of the tools you developed, but I  
  
couldn't help but feel they are a bit outdated. I can't stand  
  
throwing away good equipment though, so I fixed it up a bit and added  
  
a few parts of my own of course."  
  
The conversation ended and they worked in silence. This  
  
suited H well. He had heard that the new doctor was a little erratic  
  
and strange in the head. He found the Zekkholm a bit too cheerful for  
  
his taste. And he couldn't forget the tale Jay told him of the  
  
surgery Zeeltor did on him without his permission. This convince him  
  
even more of his unethical behavior.  
  
It was well into early dawn when they finally decided to call  
  
it a day. H quickly left without a word.  
  
After feeding Lucy, Zeeltor started for the door too. He  
  
snapped the lights off and started to close the door when Lucy let  
  
out another growl.  
  
Zeeltor sighed. "Lucy, I told you we'll play after..." He  
  
stopped in midsentence.  
  
The green illumination from Lucy had shed light upon a brain  
  
scan he still had tacked up on the light box.  
  
In white light such as from the light box, the sight would  
  
not even show up. But in the glare of the green light it was plain as  
  
day. It revealed what appeared to be a thin tunnel surgically drilled  
  
through the brain tissue.  
  
Part 3 Zeeltor dragged H by the sleeve back into the lab.  
  
"Really, Doctor Zeeltor. I think you're overreacting," H said  
  
peevishly. He had enough glancing at scans for one night, and he was  
  
ready to put the 37 hour day to an end.  
  
Behind him was Q, the agent whose scan was in question. Even  
  
though he was one of the seniors, he wasn't as stiff like H and the  
  
others. He was one who was constantly cheerful. Though his demeanor  
  
now was otherwise. His face was pale and he looked...old. "There must  
  
be a mistake Zeeltor. I never had a lobotomy."  
  
Zeeltor didn't reply but snatched the scan from the clamp.  
  
Switching on the new scanner, he slid the photo under it. "You see?  
  
There in the frontal lobe."  
  
H nudged Zeeltor aside. "It seems that a small incision was  
  
done here, at the region where memory processing in the brain is."  
  
"But what does that mean?" Q aked as they made room for him.  
  
H looked at Zeeltor then to Q. "It means old friend that  
  
someone has tampered with your memory...," he said quietly.  
  
Q frowned. "Then we must report this immediately."  
  
"...30 years ago," Zeeltor added.  
  
They all became silent. Each knew the odds of catching the  
  
culprit was near impossible. The time was too long ago, the facts  
  
few, and the idea of what memory was erased was almost unobtainable.  
  
Then an uneasy realization came to Zeeltor's mind. "Do you  
  
think that whoever's done it operated on everyone else?" he  
  
speculated nervously. "Any of us could have been victims."  
  
So they spent two more hours and to their surprise and dread,  
  
they had found that many more had their brains tampered with. The  
  
list was long, and consisted mostly of aliens who had worked for MiB  
  
for 30 years of more. These were aliens like the twins, the worms,  
  
and Zelgar, the oldest janitor.  
  
"Well the good news is that the suspect didn't continued his  
  
covert operations," Zeeltor concluded. "That it only happened 30  
  
years ago."  
  
"And we know that he strikes at aliens," H said, then looking  
  
at Q, added, "Plus one human."  
  
Zeeltor pointed a blue finger at a scan. "He must be an  
  
amateaur. A true surgeon wouldn't leave a scar tunnel behind. But  
  
he's knowledgeable enough to not accidently destroy any neural  
  
pathways."  
  
"And he is after something that has to do with a certain  
  
memory," Q finished.  
  
"It has to be Alpha," H reasoned. "He's the only big thing  
  
that happened 30 years ago when he betrayed MiB."  
  
Q nodded in agreement. He too had been there and recalled it  
  
well.  
  
Zeeltor shook his head. "Gentlemen, we shouldn't jump to  
  
conclusions. It is most likely Alpha could have done it, but don't  
  
forget that Q's memory is altered and that you H may have been as  
  
well."  
  
"But my brain hasn't been operated upon," H protested as he  
  
gestured at his own scan.  
  
"I know, but it's possible that you may have been neuralized.  
  
What we need to do now is report this at once," Zeeltor said as he  
  
locked the scans inside his desk drawer.  
  
"So let me get this straight Doctor Zeeltor," Zed spoke  
  
calmly. "You're saying that someone had performed unofficial  
  
operations on everyone 30 years ago?"  
  
"Maybe. Whoever's done it was a smooth operator. And they're  
  
obviously desperate to keep a certain memory from arising."  
  
"But how do you suggest we capture the person who committed  
  
this crime? So much has happened since."  
  
"We know, sir," H said. "Which is why we need your  
  
authorization to try and surgically revive the victims' memory. One  
  
of them may know whose done it subconsciously."  
  
Zed pressed his lips into a grim flat line. "You say the  
  
victims are all aliens?"  
  
"Only Q here is the only human to have this as well, sir."  
  
Zed nodded. "Good. The ARC would never allow this  
  
investigation without a fight, even whether with Zeeltor as the head  
  
surgeon. But with Q here we could do as you ask. You have my  
  
permission to operate on Q."  
  
Q glanced up at the mention of his name. "Isn't there another  
  
way, sir?" he gulped. Zeeltor operating on him didn't sound good.  
  
Zed shrugged. "Apparently not." He stood up from his  
  
desk. "But I need to see those scans myself and make a few copies to  
  
present to the ARC. Maybe it might convince them to allow you operate  
  
on the alien victims as well."  
  
Q knew something was wrong, even before they turned into the  
  
hallway.  
  
The fire alarm screamed. Many agents rushed past them to put  
  
the fire out.  
  
Zeeltor stood flabbergasted at the smoke that continued to  
  
bellow out of his lab door. He could see his lab equipment inside,  
  
licks of flame engulfed and tore at them.  
  
At first, Zeeltor could only stand there numbly. But sudden  
  
fear gripped him. "LUCY!" he screamed. He would have charged into the  
  
inferno if H hadn't held him back.  
  
Agent Jay stumbled over to them. His suit's fabric was hot to  
  
the touch and crackled from exposure to the intense heat. "Zeeltor,  
  
Zeeltor!" He dashed over to the trio. "Here!" He thrusted Lucy into  
  
Zeeltor's hands and before the doctor could thank him, he plunged  
  
into the group of agents who were desperately trying to put the fire  
  
out.  
  
H placed a hand upon Zeeltor's shoulder. Even though he never  
  
did like the alien, he knew it was the right thing to do. All medical  
  
personale knew it was hard to watch your lab go down in flames and  
  
all held the unspoken rule of being there to support the victim.  
  
So the three of them, Q, H, and Zeeltor, watched as the lab  
  
was consumed by the hungry fire while Zed continued to bellow  
  
directions to the agents.  
  
Part 4 From H's lab, Zeeltor confirmed what he had suspected; in addition to list of alien workers and Agent Q, were the human agents that had been found to have their memories tampered with. All of them had been in MiB for at least 30 years. As a result , Zed had ordered an immediate deneuralization, in the hope that some bit of information had been missed by the operator's hand. Even the chief himself chose to undergo the procedure. But judging from a medical officer's point of view, the aspect looked bleak in resurfacing those forbidden memories.  
As he waited for the deneuraliztion reports to come in, Zeeltor could preoccupy himself by moving what little of his belongings that were spared from the conflagration into H's quarters. He knew however that he and the other medical officer were not on good terms as far as how procedures were done and medical ethics, and he didn't expect them to become buddies. An unsaid set of rules was established in which neither of them would bother the other unless absolutely necessary, which suit Zeeltor just fine. He had found Agent H to be quite an arrogant man, proud in his abilities alone and disregarding others'. The one thing that bothered Zeeltor the most was that H was medical procedures were often narrow-minded and traditional. And for one as radical as Zeeltor, the two were always trying to denounce the other's methods, resulting in one too many headaches for Zed.  
Zeeltor was putting his clothing away in one of H's many cabinets and looked up as H walked in with a moderate stack of files in his hands, hoping that they were the deneuraliztion results.  
H raised an eyebrow and quickly slid the files into his briefcase. He continued his way into his private office, ignoring the indignant look that Zeeltor threw him.  
A loud roar turned Zeeltor attention from H's rude behavior. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know, Lucy. But I can't risk losing his cooperation on a case like this due to some personal vendetta." He added under his breath as he continued his task, "Though I agree with you that the man does need a bit of my perk-it-up formula."  
Jay came in, grunting under the weight of a storage box. "Yo.Doc.where'd you. want this?"  
Zeeltor's eyes widen. "Oh, do be careful with that. That's my latest prototype." He dashed over to help.  
Unfortunately, the size of the box inhibited Jay's field of vision. Taking one step, he ran straight into Zeeltor, tripped over his spindly legs, and fell unto the box, which ripped under his weight. Up Jay sprang, hollering in hysterics and cussing in a way that would make any Bug blush, as a green ooze began to spread up his arm and coat his body.  
Zeeltor watched in bewilderment and amusement as Jay was enshrouded by the ooze and paralyzed him, with Jay standing in an awkward position. Zeeltor beamed and exclaimed, "It works, Lucy! It works!"  
His pet roared in approval.  
Yet the same opinion was not found in H's face when he walked in. "I say, Zeeltor what on earth are you." His mouth dropped in disbelief. "Ah sh**, what the h*** did you do now, Zeeltor!?" H pulled out his ICER and froze the sculpture of Jay. With the butt of the weapon, he gave a swift blow, shattering the cocoon around Jay.  
Jay blinked, a look of bafflement on his countenance. He quickly straightened his body. As if a dim light bulb brightens, he slowly realized what had occurred. Turning to Zeeltor, he glared at him. "I'd had enough of your toys, Doc. You go unpack them yourself." With that he strode out of the room, and tried to slam the door. But being one of the retro doors of MiB, it closed with a quiet hiss.  
Realizing the awkward position of being alone with a scornful Agent H, Zeeltor smiled sheepishly, hoping to alleviate the situation.  
On the contrary, H took it as an opportunity to ridicule Zeeltor. "I'm filing a complaint against you, sir. You put as many people in danger as the number patients that you've treated."  
Zeeltor frowned. "I see no danger in a little harmless device like my Paralysis Ooze. Agent Jay wasn't even hurt," he retorted icily. Clearly, there was no way out of this argument.  
"One device after another, you keep saying they would not inflict harm. It's your pathetic excuse to continue you unauthorized dabbling in new inventions. Honestly, you frightened your patients so much that it is impossible for them to recover. You, sir, are not worthy of being called a physician."  
"And you would rather let your patients suffer in agony, than to use any of my methods that could possibly spare them from needless pain. From where I'm standing, you seem to be more of a torturer than a doctor."  
H threw up his hands. "It's hopeless. You're hopeless. How could you go about and question my ability to tend my patients when I have studied human biology and physiology since before you were born? I specialized in that field, whereas you only have a fancy of what it really is. What if there were some side effects from your revolutionizing medical methods? What if your cure is worse than the disease?"  
Zeeltor crossed his arms. "I'm aware of the risk, H, but there are times in a little change in procedures can transform the medical field for the better. What if I stumbled upon a cure to the AIDS virus that you humans have not yet found?"  
H seemed to explode. "SO YOU WOULD RISK YOUR PATIENTS' HEALTH FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR PETY EXPERIMENTS!!!??!"  
"Now you are just being unreasonable. The surgical and prescription procedures are short-termed. I always have a safety mechanism or a back up in case if the undesirable does occur."  
H was ready for another row with Zeeltor, when Zed came in.  
Zed looked from one medical officer to another and shook his head. "We have a difficult case on our hands, and being at each others throat will not make matters any easier. Now either you two act like gentlemen, or I will be forced to reprimand both of you." He looked at Zeeltor. "And you would find it best in your interest to put away your inventions until a more reasonable time. You need to focus on this case."  
H gave a look of triumph.  
Zed glared at H. "Don't think that I left you out, Old-Boy. From now on you will be assisting Zeeltor in this task. All of your research must be shared with him, and his research with you."  
Both physicians stammered their protests.  
"AND" added Zed sternly. "If I find that neither of you are doing so, I will replace both of you. There are plenty of doctors that are requesting a position here and I'm not going to hesitate to do so if you do not follow directions."  
Both of the med officers became silent. It was known that if Zed made up his mind, it won't change.  
Zed shook his head in disgust and left the quarters.  
Both of the doctors glared at each other in mutual dislike. Clearly the case would end either by miracle or by a homicide.  
Meanwhile, outside of the medical quarters, Zed turned a corner. Waiting there was Kay.  
"There aren't any doctors requesting for a position here, are there," Kay asked slyly.  
Zed smirked. "No there aren't." And his companion chuckled in response.  
  
Part 5  
  
Throughout the universe there are a few laws that one can never break. These include scientific laws, such as the laws of gravity, action, and motion. Then there are some that controls the fate of mankind. One such law is that no matter what community you live in, rumors and gossip spread like wildfire.  
  
And with a massive organization of MiB, these wild tales are a part of life; relieving the boredom and providing entertainment, except for the individuals the rumors are about.  
  
There was always one particular spot that all agents would gather about for the latest juicy gossip, the Cantering Centaur. Located at the heart of the terminals, the pub received fresh waves of arrivals, who would bring news from outside the galaxy. Topics of conversation varied from the latest interstellar fashions to politics.  
  
As usual, Kay was seemingly indifferent to all events about him. He sat at the bar, flipping nonchalantly through the Daily Inquisitor.  
  
Jay knew this was just part of the act of course. Kay had his acute superhuman hearing on at full power, straining to grasp every bit of info he can. Jay shrugged. He too should be doing the same, but at the moment he was preoccupied with a certain human female specimen with great curves.  
  
Agent Janice stood close by, chatting merrily away with her girlfriends.and looking coyly at Jay from the corner of her eyes.  
  
Jay gazed admiringly at her smooth, brown skin and finely-chiseled teeth. Her golden brown hair was tied back in a fluffy ponytail. But it was her eyes that choked him up. Within those emerald jewels held an intelligent soul, one that was kindred to his. Through them he could sense a playful nature, undertoned by one that would quickly become serious if the situation arose.  
  
A sharp nudge in the side brought Jay back to reality. He scowled at his partner, who ignored the look and jerked his head toward the direction of a Kryterian.  
  
Obviously the alien had one drink too many. It's serpentine head bobbed and wobbled on its thick muscular neck as it fumbled for the cask of Arktian wine. The Kryterian took a heavy swing from the bottle, oblivious to the flow down its front.  
  
A surly agent stood nearby, wearing a look of absolute disgust. Jay recognized him as Agent N. According to the gossip floating about the pub, he was a grouchy old-timer, who never forgave MiB for its open immigration policy back in the 1970s. Personally, Jay couldn't stand the guy. He was much too pryful and refused to see anything past the end of his nose. Ever since his removal from the field due to his discriminating actions towards Kryterians, N was reduced to paperwork and service at the pub. Which in Jay's opinion, did not alleviate N's loathing of the alien race.  
  
Jay returned his attention to the alien, who was teetering unsteadily.  
  
"Hey human, get me another round for me and my friends," the Kryterian bellowed. The assortment of aliens seated around his table roared in approval.  
  
N wrinkled his aquiline nose. "As you wish.sir." He ended his sentence with vehemence. Then turned and strode away.  
  
But the aliens paid no heed to the puny human and continued their bantering.  
  
At first any untrained eye would overlook the unruly bunch, but Jay had caught on to what Kay was interested in. A tiny brooch depicting a supernova was fastened inconspicuously within the folds of the Kryterian's vest. It was the signa of a Federation Commerce Officer. If Jay remembered correctly, that position would be at the center hub of the Intergalatic Trade itself. A position that had ears to whatever news went on in the universe. Yet most of the time these officers would never share any of this information with humans, even though it was common knowledge for other species. Now here was a chance for MiB to take advantage of the situation. As the saying goes, wine loosens the tongue. Jay strained his ears to get every drop he could get.  
  
"Now," the Kryterian began, rubbing his claws together. "To business. Keru, list me a few of the newly popular clothing in demand."  
  
For a while the conversation went along those lines and Jay grew tiresome. If all the news were about economic prospects, then it was unnecessary to continue evesdropping. Jay caught Jenice's eye and smiled. He stood up to come over to her, but Kay grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back down. Jay groaned and scowled.  
  
The Kryterian glanced at a bird-like alien. "What about you Menske? How come I still haven't received that shipment of Butabi crystals that you promised me? I have one tough customer here who was practically cramming himself down my throat if I didn't deliver. Some stupid Jee'Dang named X."  
  
The bird-alien shook his avian head. "I have no clue where it is, Kazul. All I know is that the transport disappeared in the Centaurian Sector. D*** driver probably overtaxed the hydropulsers again."  
  
"Disappeared? What do you mean disappeared? No vessel can just vanish."  
  
"I mean that our scanners lost their signal and communication link. But it's nothing to worry about. The nebulae gases there always do funny things to ship's signatures. Some kind of plasmatic field."  
  
"That is reasonable," replied Kazul. "Except for the fact that they have been gone for 3 Earth days."  
  
Menske blinked. "Well, we'll just give them more time, maybe a couple more hours, then we'll send a search party."  
  
Kazul banged a fist upon the table. "I want the party dispatched now, Menske. You should have done so after 24 hours of their disappearance. If that transport does not make it here by tomorrow, it will be your job that will be jeporadized."  
  
Menske's feathers ruffled. "I say, Kazul. You put so much demand upon me. It's not like your precious cargo of crystals will be pirated. In fact they are safer under the cover of the gases. I don't see why you can be so alarmed."  
  
That did it for Kazul. If his temper had been short before, it was even more so with the intoxication of alcohol in his blood. He seized Menske and shook the alien vigorously. "I don't care about pirates, it's the sector they're in that I'm concern about."  
  
Menske gasped and pried himself away from the drunk commerce officer's clutches. "Now I know you had too much to drink. How can you believe in such fantasy stories? There aren't ay demons in the nebula. Those vessel disappearances are just accidents."  
  
By then Agent N had long since returned with his tray bearing more refills. As he set the glasses down, he raised an inquisitive eyebrow when he heard the entire dialogue between Kazul and Menske.  
  
Kazul's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the sight of the human. "Fine, just send that search party. Gentlemen, let us take our leave," he said abruptly.  
  
The group paid and dissembled. As they filed past Jay, Jay's eye met Kazul's. Kazul gave him a look that one would give to pile of dung and strode away.  
  
Jay turned to his partner, who just sat back, pulled out a cigarette and proceeded to light it.  
  
After a few quick puffs, Kay took notice of Jay. "So, Slick, what do you think?"  
  
Turning his glass in his hand, Jay thought over the conversation he had overheard. "I figure that Kazul guy is so full of sh**." This received a smirk from Kay. Then Jay added, "What's worse is that most of the Federation think the same way that bastard does. It's scary to think that the universe has that many big a**es." He sipped at his coffee. "Plus, Kazul seems to be hiding something. Maybe he's stashing more than those crystals in that transport."  
  
Kay nodded. "Or our boy may just be overprotective of his profits. Butabi crystals aren't common goods. There had been reports of missing vessels for the past week. Something is going on in that nebula."  
  
"Pirates?"  
  
Kay shook his head. "Even the black market had reported missing transports, from the smallest scavengers to the Sublesian family itself. And someone had to be either stupid or wanting a death wish if they crossed the Sublesian family. They're the Mafia of the galaxy. In addition, many of the outer nations detected some sort of bio-magnetic energy from that sector."  
  
"Well, I don't believe that bullsh** about ghosts and demons," Jay replied bluntly.  
  
"Don't count them out. MiB had some pretty strange cases in the past. Some of which are classified and placed under the Silver Caliber Department."  
  
Jay scoffed. "The folks that work in that department are whack, Kay. Have you ever talked to." He glanced about briefly. "Agent N? Dude's so paranoid he thinks Zed can't be trusted. Keeps watching Big Z's back."  
  
"Doesn't matter, Slick. Something is happening that even got Kazul on edge. He's pretty shaken for someone invigorated by alcohol." Kay downed the last drops of his coffee and got up.  
  
Jay followed suit. As he exited the Cantering Centaur, Agent N shot him a look that gave Jay the feeling that he knew that they had been talking about him. Jay shrugged it off and looked for Jenice, then realized that she and her group were gone. D***. 


	2. The Cover Up Syndrome Part 6

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 6  
  
Zeeltor whistled absently as he continued to shuffle through the mountain of reports. So far almost every MiB agent, secretary, staff, and custodian had undergone the deneuralization procedure. Yet Zeeltor still could not find any link to those whose memories were tampered with. It was all very frustrating. No pattern could be found among the myriad of reports.in his stack at any rate.  
  
H, unaware of the attention Zeeltor gave him, continued his tedious search through his pile. It was not until he felt a deep breathing on the back of the neck that he looked up, frowned, and turned about.  
  
.only to find Zeeltor's softball-sized eyes goggling back at him.  
  
H gritted his teeth. "If you please, Dr. Zeeltor, I can't tolerate being watched as I work."  
  
Zeeltor blinked then quickly backed up. "Er, I was just wondering."he said as he tugged at his necktie uneasily. "If you.you know, found anything?"  
  
H rolled his eyes. "If I had found something Doctor, I would have said so," he replied sternly. Then he turned to his work with his back towards Zeeltor.  
  
Now it was Zeeltor's turn to roll his eyes. "I never understand humans," he told Lucy.  
  
Lucy belched in reply.  
  
H shook his head in annoyance. How could Zed do this to me, he thought angrily. After all my faithful service to the agency, he decides to make me work with a quack posing as a physician. He glanced over at Zeeltor, who was crooning to his pet bacteria. Renowned physican, my a**.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by uproarious laugther outside the lab. What is it now, he groaned.  
  
The door hissed open and Zed entered with Lindunn and company. The president of the ARC (Alien Rights Committee) was holding his sides, and tears rolled down his face.  
  
"Dam* Zed, you got to admit that will be one moment in Federation history that will be remembered forever," Lindunn chuckled.  
  
Zed scowled. "You knew it was going to happen, and yet you let me follow through on it. I've never been so embarrassed in my whole life. And Ambassador Klinin, how is he going to take it? What if he declared war on Earth all because of your idea of humor?" he demanded.  
  
"Oh come on, Zed. War over something like that? I doubt even the proud Klinin would stoop so low to fight with an inferior race like yours."  
  
Zed's lips tightened but he did not say anymore once he noticed the stares he was receiving from H and Zeeltor. He cleared his throat. "H, Zeeltor." He nodded at each respectfully. "I apologize for the interruption, but could you be so kind as to make an unscheduled appointment?" His question seemed to be more like an order than a request.  
  
Lindunn got the hint and excused himself. He left with his bodyguards, still snickering as he did so.  
  
Zed ignored the inquisitive stares he was getting from both physicians and sat himself heavily upon the medical bed.  
  
Zeeltor went into his doctor-mode. "So," he clapped his hands together. "What could I do for you today, Zed?" Zeeltor glanced nervously at H, hoping there wasn't going to be a conflict on who gets to treat the head of MiB.  
  
But to his great surprise, H turned quickly away and returned to his work on the deneuralization reports.  
  
Zeeltor shrugged. At least war was off, for now anyways.  
  
Zed sighed. "Well, you know that I suffer from stress and tension."  
  
"But surely your agents can't be that big of a headache," Zeeltor interjected. He smirked. "And I know that you have an uncanny knack of being able to organize your time. So your affairs with foreign policy won't disrupt your sleep."  
  
Zed frowned. "It's different this time. I swear it never got this bad before. I woke up about six times last night. And." He paused and rubbed his temples. "It feels as if the blood is literally boiling brain. I hear voices murmuring threats."  
  
Zeeltor rubbed his neck. "Strange, I never heard of such symptoms. Maybe this is a bit beyond my skills as a physician, I have to admit." This earned a scoff from H. Zeeltor ignored it. "Perhaps you could see Dr. Donovan in the Psychiatric Ward about those dreams. To me, it sounds like a bad case of indigestion."  
  
Zed looked offended. "I laid off the bunt cake like you told me to," he insisted.  
  
"Well," Zeeltor shrugged. "I'm afraid all I can do is just prescribe you a mild sedative. That will at least get you your 8 hours."  
  
"3 hours," Zed corrected as he heaved himself off the medical bed.  
  
"Whatever." Zeeltor strode over to the Drug Sorter and promptly pressed a few buttons. Some red pills slid from a tube into the medicine bottle. Zeeltor handed Zed the bunch. "Take one before going to bed. And remember, no citric drinks."  
  
"Gotcha." Zed nodded his thanks and left, passing Agent N who was waxing the Infirmary's floor.  
  
The agent took one look at Zed's retreating back before returning to his task.  
  
Zeeltor sighed. "The most bizarre case of migraine I've ever heard of," he said to no one in particular.  
  
H looked up and sneered. "That's because you're inexperienced. The only reason why you are renowned is due to your inventions and radical ideas of medical practice."  
  
Placing his hands on his sides, Zeeltor frowned. "And you think you could do any better?"  
  
H nodded curtly. "Of course. Our chief is suffering from extreme anxiety. What we should be concerned about are those hallucinations of hearing voices."  
  
"And what would you have prescribed?"  
  
"Obviously," answered H matter-of-factly. "I would have gave him a mild depressant. That ought to mellow Zed out a bit. I always told him he was working himself too hard."  
  
"If you think you would have done a better job, why not do so?" Zeeltor asked impatiently.  
  
H blinked. "Well, I.I just wanted to let you make a fool of yourself. It was the only way to show how inadequate you are as a physician. Besides, you needed the experience," he stammered.  
  
"Hmm, I thought you would have jumped at the opportunity to show off in front of me and impress Zed with your skills."  
  
H shrugged. "Just goes to show you that humans cannot be totally understood," he replied hastily. He ended the conversation by turning back to his work.  
  
Zeeltor shook his head. Not only is H arrogant but also eccentric, he thought as he fed his pet bacteria. Lucy made a few chirruping sounds in gratitude.  
  
H glanced back over his shoulder. Nosy alien, he thought. What was it to him if I didn't want to treat Zed? He just better stop questioning if he knows what's good for him.  
  
The rest of the day was in spent in silence, except for the sound of shuffling paper. 


	3. Parts 7,8,9

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 7  
  
Every once in a while business at MiB come almost to a  
  
complete halt. This meant to the agents only one thing that they  
  
feared the most (even more so than being thrown into an angry nest  
  
of bugs).Recreation Night hosted by yours truly, Dr. Zeeltor.  
  
"Da** of all the rotten luck," Jay groaned. He mentally  
  
kicked himself for suggesting to Zeeltor to take a break every once  
  
and a while between his investigation. He regretted ever telling  
  
Zeeltor to do something he enjoyed.  
  
X sat at a table across from Elle, his head resting on his  
  
arms. "Way to go, human. You just had to invite Zeeltor. I remember  
  
the last time Zeeltor hosted our get together. I still find colored  
  
sand in my ears," X remarked with a shudder.  
  
Kay was more quiet than usual. This was his way of showing  
  
his anger toward Jay. But Elle on the other hand was not as  
  
forgiving. "Jay," she said in a mock sweet voice. "I'm going to kill  
  
you." She reached over, seized Jay by the necktie, and would have  
  
strangled him then and there had not Zed entered.  
  
Jay sighed in relief and rubbed his neck. He gulped when he  
  
saw the death glare Elle was giving him. But concern for his life  
  
ended when he took a glance at Zed.  
  
Zed looked like hell all over. The rings under his eyes were  
  
darker than usual. The normally pressed and tidy sit he wore was  
  
wrinkled. His tie hung around his neck, and his once immaculate  
  
white shirt was yellowed and had stains of coffee upon it. Most  
  
startling was the haggard expression on his face. It seemed all of  
  
his years were visible in those lines and wrinkles.  
  
"Big Z, what's.hap'nen?" a stunned Jay asked quietly.  
  
He spoke for all of them, for the other agents too were  
  
disturbed by the drastic change in their leader. Even the smug Agent  
  
X had a cocked eyebrow directed toward Zed's unusual appearance.  
  
In the midst of the troubled agents entered Dr. Zeeltor,  
  
whistling a merry tune and dragging in a cart of games and odds and  
  
ends.  
  
"Salutations, agents," he greeted cheerfully. He began  
  
digging into the cart and pulled out what looked like an orange  
  
sponge oozing purple goop. "I think we'll begin with Snarzoball and  
  
then." He paused and looked at Jay. "Why Agent Jay, you look like  
  
you've seen a ghost." During this whole time Zeeltor had his back  
  
towards Zed.  
  
Jay cleared his throat and jerked his head in Zed's  
  
direction.  
  
Confused, Zeeltor looked behind him and widened his  
  
eyes. "Zed, you should be resting," he exclaimed. "You need plenty  
  
of sleep and."  
  
"Your pills aren't working," Zed interrupted in a dejected  
  
tone. He closed his eyes and massaged them with one hand.  
  
Unfortunately for Zeeltor, H had entered as Zed made this  
  
remark.  
  
H took one look at Zed and harrumphed. "I knew it. I knew  
  
that you can't diagnose your patients correctly," he said  
  
triumphantly. He turned to Zed. "Sir, I've told you that you were  
  
making a mistake by hiring Zeeltor. Now you see? For all we know he  
  
might have been trying to poison you. He."  
  
Zeeltor felt the burn of embarrassment. Here was H  
  
proclaiming his failure before all of MiB. And he could not deny it.  
  
He felt so helpless. But he was also shocked by the unthinkable  
  
accusation against him.  
  
Zed held up a restraining hand. "I'm aware of your opinion,  
  
Agent H."  
  
"But he."  
  
"However," Zed raised his voice. "I will not allow you to  
  
continue denouncing a well-respected physician. I've looked at his  
  
credentials, H, and he indeed does qualify for his position. And how  
  
can you think of accusing Zeeltor of attempted poisoning? I'm  
  
disappointed in you. This is the lowest I've ever seen you sink.  
  
Those pills did give me a moment rest before the dreams set in. I'm  
  
grateful for Dr. Zeeltor's service, whereas you turned away when I  
  
asked for help. Consider your own ethics before questioning others',  
  
H."  
  
H opened and closed his mouth. He was flabbergasted.and  
  
betrayed.  
  
Zeeltor on the other hand was relieved and grateful of Zed's  
  
interference on his behalf. Yet he felt frustrated for not being  
  
able to stand up for himself. Such was his nature. He loved  
  
socializing but avoided conflicts when possible.  
  
Kay was the first to notice that Zed was beginning to sway.  
  
He rushed over, pulled one of Zed's arms over his shoulder, and  
  
supported the large man. Clearly, the long-winded speech Zed made  
  
had zapped a great deal of his strength.  
  
"Come on," Kay urged gently. "I'll bring you back to your  
  
quarters."  
  
Zed nodded weakly and allowed himself to be drawn away from  
  
his group of concerned agents.  
  
As soon as he left, all of the agents murmured amongst each  
  
other, coming up with ideas of how Zed could get into this condition.  
  
"It's all your fault, Jay," X said bluntly. "You always did  
  
know how to blow MiB's cover most of the time."  
  
"Whad ya mean it's my fault," Jay demanded angrily. "You're  
  
the one who's always leaving a trail of destruction wherever you go."  
  
The debate continued, each agent defending him or herself  
  
and blaming the other.  
  
Meanwhile Zeeltor and H glared at each other. The rift  
  
between them had become a chasm separating the two. One was  
  
patronizing and proud of himself, the other hurt and unsure.  
  
Fortunately one agent saw the enmity that was forming  
  
between everyone. He stood up unto a chair and blew a sharp whistle.  
  
Everybody froze and turned their heads in the direction of  
  
the sound.  
  
Oh brother, Elle thought when she saw who it was.  
  
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 8  
  
Agent U gulped when he saw all sets of eyes looking at him,  
  
some with disbelief, many with laughter behind them. He took a deep  
  
breath. Well, he told himself, you've got their attention.  
  
"Everyone, stop blaming each other for Zed's condition. What  
  
matters now is that he is sick and having all of you at each others  
  
throats is not helping." U was exasperated of his fellow agents for  
  
behaving so unprofessionally. The lack of order tormented him.  
  
"Oh shut up, U."  
  
"Go soak your head."  
  
But U would not relent. "Listen, the MiB handbook says that."  
  
"To hell with your handbook!"  
  
Everyone looked about in confusion. It was one thing to  
  
tease U about his obsession with the rules but to be defiant against  
  
them was another.  
  
A rough-looking gray-haired agent swaggered forward. He  
  
sneered. "That da*n handbook has done little good for us all. You  
  
ever noticed how every rule dictates that we should play nice with  
  
the aliens who refuse to get their heads out of their a**es." The  
  
agent paused and looked about, as if daring anyone to contradict him.  
  
U looked flustered. "But, Y.the handbook. It's the  
  
foundation of our agency. It."  
  
Y turned sharply on him. "There you go again preaching that  
  
bullsh**." He turned back to the others. "Everyone knows that cr*p  
  
does nothing but keeps us humans weak and suppressed."  
  
H frowned something was definitely wrong with Y. He didn't  
  
look drunk though. Yet in all of the thirty years he'd known him, Y  
  
was one to never be audacious. He did always resent the rules that  
  
protected aliens. But he would never be so bold as to express it;  
  
only a give a venomous glare, but that was all. To do something like  
  
slandering MiB protocol was not in his nature.  
  
Y smiled coldly at Zeeltor and X. "You aliens think you're  
  
so superior." He let out a derisive laugh.  
  
"Dude's crazier than Frank at an All-You-Can-Eat," Jay  
  
muttered.  
  
Zeeltor stepped forward. "Agent Y, that's enough. Let's just  
  
get back to Recrea."  
  
Y glared at Zeeltor. "Who asked you to talk, Alien?" He spat  
  
the last word out as if he had something filthy on his lips.  
  
Zeeltor frowned. "Now you're being impractical. Zed's not  
  
going to be happy if."  
  
He didn't get to finish that statement, for Y had pushed  
  
Zeeltor roughly aside. Zeeltor fell to the ground.  
  
Anger flushed through X's veins. The scene was bringing back  
  
too much horrid memories. He immediately put himself between Zeeltor  
  
and Y. He had enough of Y's bravado.  
  
"Back off human, if you don't want a fat lip to go with that  
  
big head of yours," X snarled.  
  
Y scoffed. "Big words coming from such an incompetent agent.  
  
Tell me, have you gotten suspenders for your pants yet? Or do you  
  
enjoy the breeze around your privs."  
  
That did it for X. He charged into Y, fist clenched. Y met  
  
him head on. The two clashed and went down.  
  
H rushed in along with Elle. H seized Y's arm and held him  
  
back. Elle had difficulty restraining her partner, until she locked  
  
his arm behind him.  
  
"That's enough, Y," H hissed into his ear.  
  
Y struggled a bit more. Realizing he could not escape from  
  
his comrade's clutches, he nodded in surrender. He stormed out of  
  
the Recreation Hall with a very puzzled and concerned H in his wake.  
  
U looked disconcerted at what had transpired. Then he felt  
  
it was up to him to restore order. "Okay everyone, let's get back to  
  
what we were supposed to be doing in the first place, enjoying our  
  
Recreation Time."  
  
X and Elle were excluded. X had to go to the Infirmary for  
  
the cut over his brow. As the two walked down the hallway, Elle  
  
yelled at her reckless partner. He did not seem fazed by her rebuke,  
  
but seemed very satisfied that he at least gave Y the fat lip he  
  
promised him.  
  
Zeeltor shaken from the whole order continue to host the  
  
activities, but put little of his heart into it. Jay was caught  
  
between relief of this but also worried for the doc.  
  
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 9  
  
"Knock, knock, Doc." Jay stuck his head around the edge of  
  
the door. His eyes scanned the room. Hmm, no sign of Zeeltor. Still,  
  
one never did know if he would pop up anytime, hoping you would play  
  
with his newest invention. And Jay had no desire to be the guinea  
  
pig today. Okay, Jay told himself. Just get in there, comfort the  
  
Doc, and leave.  
  
He took a step into the lab.  
  
.and ended upside-down. The funny thing was, there wasn't  
  
anything that held him up.  
  
Jay let out a yelp of surprise, and Zeeltor's head popped up  
  
from behind a counter.  
  
Zeeltor's eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Oh, I'm so  
  
sorry Agent Jay." He whipped out a remote and pressed a few buttons.  
  
Jay was released and crashed upon the ground headfirst.  
  
Jay clenched his teeth to keep the flurry of curses in. He  
  
rubbed his shoulder where he had landed upon. "Da*n Zeeltor, what's  
  
up with the hard welcome?"  
  
Zeeltor smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his  
  
neck. "Well.It's just a precaution really."  
  
"Jay's eyebrows rose. "Precaution against what? Is Agent Y  
  
givin' you a hard time? Cause if he was, he's got another thing  
  
coming." He cracked his knuckles to prove his point.  
  
"Really Agent Jay, violence begets violence. And I don't  
  
want any more accidents from barbaric fisticuffs," the little alien  
  
pleaded.  
  
Jay's expression softened and he shook his head. "To be  
  
honest, Doc, I think that you're just too nice for you own good  
  
sometimes. That attracts trouble, you know."  
  
"I can't help it," Zeeltor replied with a shrug. "I don't  
  
like fighting."  
  
Jay looked back at where he had hung a while ago. "What I'm trying  
  
to say is, if you have any more problems with Y, then."  
  
"It's not just Y," Zeeltor admitted quietly.  
  
The other turned his head and frowned. "What? Other people are  
  
jumping ya? I mean your inventions may drive some people nuts but."  
  
Zeeltor shook his head and sighed. "They're stalking me, Jay.  
  
Especially Agent N. He was constantly interrogating me, particularly  
  
on matters of Zed's health."  
  
The two stopped talking as H entered, his face a deep scarlet, and  
  
an enraged scowl on his features. "Incredible, it's as if he's not  
  
the same person I knew," he muttered beneath his breath. He stopped  
  
short when he saw Jay and Zeeltor. He frowned at them and strode  
  
into his private office, slammed the door as he did so.  
  
Before Jay and Zeeltor could think any more on it, Zed came in,  
  
unkempt as ever. Zed shook his head. "It's bad enough for me to play  
  
referee for the younger agents without having to do so for the older  
  
ones as well," he grumbled. Seeing Zeeltor, he said, "Doctor, when H  
  
finally comes to his senses, would you kindly tell him to stay away  
  
from Agent Y? I don't want any more headaches than necessary. As to  
  
confirm his last statement, he placed a hand on the side of his head  
  
and winced.  
  
Zeeltor jumped into his role. "Have a seat, sir." Then escorted the  
  
head of MiB to a chair.  
  
Zed murmured a feeble thanks when Jay handed him a glass of water.  
  
Zeeltor tightened his lips. "I'm afraid I may have to increase your  
  
dosage and change the prescription as well, Zed." He began to  
  
rummage through his private medicine cabinet, where he stored the  
  
more powerful drugs.  
  
As Zeeltor continued to search, Jay tried to make some conversation  
  
with the boss.  
  
"So,er, Zed," Jay began unsurely. "How's it hangin'?"  
  
Zed groaned, feeling another headache was coming on. He knew Jay  
  
meant well, but there were times the kid was too much. "Peachy,  
  
Junior, just peachy. I had to break up some fights between the  
  
agents today."  
  
Jay nodded. "What do you expect though, Fridays have real food and  
  
you have to expect some elbowing."  
  
"That not it. The funny thing is the fights were started by the  
  
seniors. In fact many of them are a bit edgy."  
  
"Really? And I thought the younger one were a bunch of pigs. In fact  
  
just last week, X had put pudding down my."  
  
The older agent frowned. "They were all fighting over how the MiB  
  
handbook and protocol should be interpreted. I suspect it has  
  
something to do with Agent Y. Agent U had taken it upon himself to  
  
inform me of his insubordination as of late. In fact the agents who  
  
started the fights seem to rally behind Y."  
  
"Have you talked to him?"  
  
"You bet I did," Zed growled. "Frankly, I'm surprised that although  
  
he kept challenging MiB authority, he was remarkably respectful  
  
towards me. Of course he did not relent on his view, but nonetheless  
  
its odd how a normally rude person could be so courteous."  
  
Jay's eyebrows went up. "All I can say is, Y's gone over the edge.  
  
All old-timers crack in the e." He stopped himself and cleared his  
  
throat uneasily on seeing Zed's death glare.  
  
At that moment N came in, his face impassive.  
  
Zeeltor turned to see who had entered and  
  
gulped. "HeresthepillsZedhaveaniceday!" Then he disappeared into his  
  
office.  
  
N took no notice of the Zekklom's hasty departure. Instead he turned  
  
onto Zed. "Sir, I would like a question answered." He said this in a  
  
way that Jay knew was disrespectful of the Big Man.  
  
Zed glared at him. "Very well, what is it N?"  
  
"Is it true that you mind-linked with Ambassador Klinin?"  
  
"Yes," Zed groaned inwardly at recalling the embarrassing  
  
moment. "And it turned out to almost be the brink of war." Then he  
  
looked suspiciously at N. "Why are you asking this?"  
  
"Just checking up on a rumor, sir," N reassured him. "The other  
  
agents are spreading gossip about the whole incident." Then he  
  
nodded and took his leave.  
  
Strange guy, Jay thought. And just plain nosy.  
  
The door to the private offices opened and Zeeltor's head came  
  
around it. He glanced about uncertainly as if N was laying in  
  
ambush. Breathing a sigh of relief, he came over to Zed and placed  
  
the medicine bottle into his hand. "There, make sure you drink  
  
plenty of fluids with this one. And if you experience any  
  
complications such as fever, vomiting, or." Zeeltor trailed off.  
  
"Yes?" Zed demanded.  
  
Zeeltor smiled sheepishly, ".or if you start breaking out an odd  
  
purple rash, then I suggest you stop taking the medicine and inform  
  
me." Seeing the bewilderment on Jay's and Zed's faces, he  
  
added "It's a new form of depressant that I just developed. It's  
  
pretty much in the prototype stage."  
  
Jay whistled. "Big Z in black, white, and purple. That will be an  
  
eyesore."  
  
Zed glared at him, and Jay got the hint.  
  
"Before you go sir," Zeeltor interjected. "Could you answer a  
  
question of mine? I couldn't help but overhear N asking you about a  
  
mind-link you had. By any chance, did your headaches began before or  
  
after it?"  
  
Zed thought. "Afterwards." Then he frowned. "You don't suspect that  
  
it."  
  
Zeeltor nodded eagerly. "Maybe that's the problem. Therefore I want  
  
to schedule an appointment with you to take some brain scans, just  
  
in case."  
  
Zed shrugged. "Okay, I'll see you at four. I just need to cancel my."  
  
"Massage?" Jay finished, flourishing a grin.  
  
Zed pointed a finger at him. "Don't push it, Junior." Then to  
  
Zeeltor he bid a good day and left.  
  
Jay shook his head. "Man, Kay was right. He always did say that one  
  
day Zed's interest in telepathy will get him into trouble."  
  
Zeeltor nodded. He knew that human-alien mind-links were often  
  
unpredictable and dangerous. Many times he warned Zed, but the chief  
  
insisted on such methods to defend his mind against psychic attack,  
  
as such a case happen when Alpha took control.  
  
The door suddenly banged open, and Agent U burst in breathing  
  
heavily as if he had ran a marathon. "Fight, Agent F and Klamic, in  
  
Hall 2C," he sputtered. 


	4. Parts 10, 11, 12, 13

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 10 By the time the three rushed into the hall, a crowd had  
  
gathered, blocking the view of the fight.  
  
Jay shouldered his way through the group, ignoring the  
  
protests and curses thrown at him. Finally, he broke into the center  
  
of the fray.  
  
U was wrong. It wasn't a fight. Klamic made no move to hit  
  
back at F, but tried to shield himself from the agent's blows. F  
  
attacked Klamic with a vigor that was surprising for a man his age,  
  
pummeling the poor alien at every spot uncovered.  
  
Jay grasped F and twisted back one of his arms and reached  
  
for the other one. Before he could however, F elbowed him in the  
  
stomach. Jay felt the breath punched out of him and gasped in  
  
surprise. F turned and was about to press his advantage when he was  
  
suddenly flipped easily by Kay.  
  
Kay nodded to his partner, who smiled in gratitude, still  
  
rubbing his stomach. Kay glared at F who had drawn himself up from  
  
the ground, scowling at his attacker.  
  
Fortunately, MiB security had arrived.  
  
***  
  
Zed's face was a dark crimson once he came out of his  
  
office. He slammed the door, resulting the shattering of the window  
  
panes in it.  
  
The worms, who were standing close by, jumped.  
  
"Oh no, he found out about it," one of them gulped.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Wormy. This time we left no mess."  
  
"Still, wouldn't he notice the coffee level?"  
  
The second worm grimaced. "Let's hope not."  
  
Seeing Zed approaching, they all yelped and scattered.  
  
Kay was walking in the same hall and barely moved aside  
  
before the worms streaked by in panic. He just raised an eyebrow and  
  
continued around the corner to meet up with Zed.  
  
Zed was too angry to say anything but nodded to his  
  
companion in acknowledgement. "My office, now," he said between  
  
clenched teeth.  
  
Plopping down on the oversized armchair, Zed rubbed his  
  
temples furiously. "Now as you know Kay, these fights are getting  
  
out of hand. And what's worse, it's the older agents that are  
  
causing it."  
  
Kay remained silent. He knew what was coming, but it didn't  
  
make the situation any easier.  
  
"I know that you're thinking the same thing, but we have no  
  
choice. Perhaps Agent Jay is right. Perhaps it's time our old  
  
friends should retire," Zed continued. "The stress is probably  
  
getting to them and they do deserve the life-long break."  
  
Kay's lips pursed. "Have you tried everything? Are you  
  
certain that a week or two could put an end to the trouble?"  
  
Hands flat unto the table, Zed stared straight into Kay's  
  
eyes. "Nothing, nothing is working. I tried to reason with them.  
  
I've given the seniors time off. I even assigned psychiatric therapy  
  
and massage sessions. All of them were futile." His brow  
  
furrowed. "They remain as stubborn as ever. To make matters worse,  
  
Lindunn is raising h*ll, holding me responsible for the check. At  
  
this rate all trade with other nations will cease, not to mention  
  
political relationships. So I'm afraid we have no other option, Kay.  
  
We have to end it before more aliens are victimized."  
  
Kay knew the cataclysmic effect the neutralization of many  
  
of the seniors would have on MiB as a whole. Without them,  
  
replacements would be needed to meet the demand in the education and  
  
medical fields. The department that would be hit hardest was the  
  
Special Services, since most of the seniors were from that branch.  
  
"But don't you suspect it's something to do with the case  
  
Dr. Zeeltor and H are working on," Kay asked.  
  
The other nodded. "I've toyed with the idea. But as H tells  
  
me, it's one thing to track missing neuro-pathways and quite another  
  
to track memories, which in itself is not scientifically possible  
  
unless the patient confides in what those memories are.  
  
Unfortunately, the seniors refused to tell what they experienced  
  
after they were submitted to deneuralization. As far as I'm  
  
concerned, they are well aware of their actions. Therefore they will  
  
have to accept the consequences."  
  
Kay sighed. Zed was right as usual. "I understand sir. I'll  
  
get everything ready. We'll need good cover stories, so I'll get the  
  
Silver Caliber on that."  
  
"Good. Inform me once the preparations are finished. Then  
  
we'll get to the messy business."  
  
They both exited the room.  
  
Unbeknownst to them, a small camera had been planted in  
  
Zed's office, recording everything they had said and transmitting it  
  
to its owner.  
  
"Oh no you don't, Zed," the watcher said quietly. "We've  
  
done so much without you interfering into our plans. And we can't  
  
let you ruin all of the fun now, can we?" The voice let out a  
  
sinister chuckle.  
  
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 11 "All right! It's Friday and that means it's time to get my  
  
grub on!" Jay eagerly rushed up to the end of the dinner line,  
  
narrowly stepping unto U's spit-shine shoes.  
  
U frowned distastefully and moved away. "Honestly, Agent  
  
Jay, you could show a little more maturity," he sniffed.  
  
X chuckled. "For once, Bootlicker's right. But of course,  
  
Agent Jay's vocabulary doesn't contain the word "maturity."  
  
"And you think you do?" Jay shot back. "Mr. All-Rules-Are-  
  
Beneath-Me?"  
  
Kay shook his head. He had long ago given up any attempt to  
  
play referee among them. Then there was also his philosophy of men.  
  
Kay believed that men had to fight everything out of their system in  
  
order to become close friends. Hey, it worked with Dee and him,  
  
right?  
  
Contrary to Kay's way of thinking, Elle groaned in  
  
exasperation. Men are so dense at times. Often they are barbaric and  
  
resort to violence when things didn't work out. They would fight and  
  
fight until they are too tired, and then are forced to negotiate  
  
peace. Such was their primitive nature.  
  
Much to the amusement of the other agents, Jay and X  
  
continued to rumble, ignoring Agent U who was yelling himself hoarse  
  
between them.  
  
Kay smirked at the whole situation and reminisced how some  
  
things never do change. He was snapped back to reality when Elle,  
  
who looked about, asked him, "Kay, do you notice that the cafeteria  
  
is a bit emptier than usual?"  
  
Setting his lips grimly, Kay nodded. He had noticed the  
  
change and knew the reason why. Still he could not find the courage  
  
to tell all of the others of the drastic change MiB would have to  
  
undergo. And many of them had been on good terms with many of the  
  
seniors. To them the blow would be the equivalent of losing family  
  
members, whether they were friendly or not.  
  
Zed entered the cafeteria, at least a bit more presentable  
  
save the loose tie dangling around his neck. Jay and X dropped the  
  
matter between them quickly.  
  
Agent U immediately took his place by Zed's side, but was  
  
waved away by the boss, much to U's disappointment.  
  
Zed cleared his throat and everyone became silent. "Now, you  
  
all are probably wondering what happened to most of the seniors.  
  
Before you start spreading rumors," he glared especially at Jozen,  
  
the most talkative secretary in MiB. "I want to tell you up front  
  
the situation."  
  
A few murmurs erupted but ebbed when Zed raised a hand. "You  
  
are all aware that an agent's life may end in retirement. The only  
  
proper thing to do is to give our fellow agents a good send-off."  
  
This time there was no response to Zed's words. Grave  
  
expressions told of how everyone knew that this was a hard reality  
  
they had to accept. But such was the MiB way of life.  
  
Dinner resumed but with less talk than before.  
  
The news did not have any affect on Jay's stomach of course,  
  
and Elle grimaced at the enormous mound he was piling unto his plate.  
  
"Hey human, leave some for the rest of us," X growled.  
  
" `Scuse me?" Jay asked around a mouthful. Bits of sausage  
  
rained unto Elle. "Oh, surry El'" he apologized, showering her with  
  
more.  
  
Elle wiped her face in disgust, picked up a salad and left.  
  
X came after her carrying a plate of spaghetti, knowing full well  
  
that it was a food that Elle had abstained herself from.  
  
Zed saddled up next to Kay.  
  
"So where are the seniors?" Kay asked out of the corner of  
  
his mouth while pretending to examine a lobster.  
  
"Well, you know them. They insisted on having a get-  
  
together, members only. Most likely to reminisce about old times."  
  
Zed didn't see that his tie had ended up in the gravy.  
  
Kay pulled the tie from the mess. "And how was your  
  
appointment with Zeeltor?"  
  
Zed frowned. "Not much success apparently. Nothing shown up  
  
on the scans and I tested negative on the deneuralization. But that  
  
doesn't mean a thing, or at least that's what Zeeltor told me. He  
  
said that he had given up totally on the deneuralization reports.  
  
The memories, whatever they were, were suppressed too long to  
  
recover."  
  
"So the case is over then?"  
  
"Not quite. Zeeltor want to try something. He believes the  
  
nightmares I'm having are the repressed memories, trying to rise due  
  
to my mind-link with Klinin. He believes that mind-link resurfaces  
  
memories, as shown as when Klinin and I manage to get a glimpse of  
  
our.less savored memories."  
  
Kay smirked. "What was yours?"  
  
Zed shuddered. "The one time I was controlled by Alpha to go  
  
stark naked through City Hall."  
  
His companion suppressed his laughter. He cleared his throat  
  
and tried to straighten his lips. "So how does Zeeltor expect to  
  
continue the case?"  
  
Zed chuckled. "He assumes that through the use of hypnosis I  
  
would be able to give him an idea of who had performed all those  
  
surgeries and neuralizations. I have my doubts though that such a  
  
harebrained method would actually work."  
  
Kay raised an eyebrow. "Well it worked before with Jay.  
  
Through the use of Neuro-Clay, he told us the location of a bug  
  
nest. It's not a scientific procedure, but Zeeltor and H are running  
  
out of ideas."  
  
Zed grunted in agreement.  
  
Meanwhile X and Elle had sat themselves by a window away  
  
from the others. Though Elle was annoyed by her partner's choice of  
  
food, she retaliated by nibbling on a small piece of chocolate. She  
  
knew that he was allergic to the stuff, and enjoyed the look of envy  
  
he was giving her.  
  
Then uninvited, Jay took a seat at their table.  
  
" `Ey guys," Jay sputtered. " `Ow `bout that neus?" He  
  
swallowed before continuing. "Man, I can't believe that Zed's giving  
  
many of the old-timers the boot. I don't think that they would have  
  
hard feelings though. All they'll have to miss is the paperwork and  
  
babysitting."  
  
"As usual Jay, your compassion is infinite," Elle said  
  
rolling her eyes.  
  
"What? What did I do?" Jay stuffed another enormous forkful  
  
into his mouth.  
  
X shuddered. And your manners are impeccable, he thought.  
  
Meanwhile, nearby, Frank the Pug was gorging himself. He  
  
devoured everything in his path. Many of the agents jumped back in  
  
disgust as spittles of food and slobber flew everywhere.  
  
Frank ignored their curses at him though. He had a lot of  
  
room in his 6 stomachs to fill and da*n him if he was gonna waste  
  
time back talking.  
  
He just loved Fridays. MiB sure knew how to set a spread.  
  
There were 32 differently cooked meats and 50 types of deserts.  
  
Frank left the 47 varieties of salads alone. He had no intent to eat  
  
another parasite alien lifeform again.  
  
With one mighty GULP! Frank finished the chicken pot pie he  
  
was working on.  
  
"Ahhh, that one hit the spot," Frank said as he licked his  
  
jowls. He looked about for any other greedy agents who planned to  
  
steal his food. Seeing none, he shrugged, and was about to launch  
  
himself into the succulent chocolate pudding.when something caught  
  
his eye.  
  
From another table nearby, Frank spotted Zed and Kay, who  
  
seemed to have ended their conversation. But it wasn't their company  
  
that attracted Frank's attention. Zed had taken the last slice of  
  
apple pie. The fur on Frank's neck raised and he growled. The nerve  
  
of that human! He's so full of food, why does he need anymore?  
  
But thoughts of food left Frank when he noticed that Agent N  
  
was tailing Zed in hot pursuit.with his hand in his breast pocket,  
  
where every agent stashed their favored firearm.  
  
Frank got a feeling in his overfilled bellies that something  
  
was going down. He eyed the chocolate pudding regretfully, and then  
  
looked back toward the direction that Zed and N had gone. With a  
  
quick push of the paw, the pudding disappeared under a salad.  
  
"Don't worry, I'll be back for you, Babe," Frank said long  
  
fully at the pudding. Then with one last glance back at the hidden  
  
dessert, Frank dashed after N.  
  
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 12 "Kolaff, I need those conduits now," barked the Frescradian.  
  
Already, within 20 minutes, the repairs to the blown out  
  
wall illumination bulbs were greatly hampered. The Frescradian's  
  
tentacles twitched in agitation. They had only 2 hours to fix the  
  
entire system, and so far they only replaced a few bulbs.  
  
Kolaff glanced up. His cat-like face scowled in annoyance of  
  
his supervisor. "No can do, Cutel. We need to clean out the debri  
  
first." Couldn't the da*n alien see that the 30 years growth of dust  
  
and webbing had to be removed first? Cursed humans, he thought. How  
  
could they live in such filth?  
  
Cutel snarled when one of his tentacles touched yet another  
  
layer of dust, which clung tenaciously even despite his efforts to  
  
brush it off. Feed up, he reached in, snagged a cake of dirt and  
  
grime, and pulled, ripping the entire mess.  
  
Then, Cutel felt his tentacle strike against something  
  
metal. He cursed. Must be some utility pipe. He dug about and around  
  
the metal object.  
  
But the metal was not shaped as a pipe as he thought it was.  
  
Rather it became a sheet, then suddenly had long slender rods  
  
attached to it.  
  
Slowly, the excavation revealed what Cutel never would dream  
  
to be buried in the MiB's walls. It was some sort of machine, and an  
  
advanced piece of technology at that. Yet he could not identify the  
  
culture that made it, and he knew a lot of civilizations. Then Cutel  
  
realized, could it be some technology from a long forgotten people?  
  
The thought excited him.  
  
The metal was silver-white and gleamed despite the grime  
  
that coated it. In fact it seemed like it was glowing. Long graceful  
  
appendages extended from the body like some sort of crab.  
  
Cutel shook his head. Those foolish humans had something so  
  
valuable hidden in their wall and didn't know about it. Oh well, it  
  
would fetch a pretty price on the Black Market.  
  
He had to get it out. Yet the da*n thing was huge. Cutel dug  
  
and dug until he freed one of the machine's legs. He wrapped a  
  
tentacle around it.  
  
That was his last act, for suddenly enormous razor blades  
  
slid out from the metallic leg. With one swift motion, the leg  
  
sliced off the Frescradian's head. The stump of the neck erupted  
  
with tan blood.  
  
The blood drizzled unto Kolaff. "What the h*ll?" He glanced  
  
up and gasped when Cutel's body crashed unto him.  
  
The last thing Kolaff saw before blacking out was a spider-  
  
like machine climbing out of the wall and scampering away in the  
  
direction of the laboratories.  
  
The Cover Up Syndrome Part 13 Upon entering the men's restroom, Zed stood in front of a  
  
mirror, gripping hard onto the sink. He forced himself to look at  
  
his own reflection.  
  
God, he could hardly recognize himself. The chin that once  
  
was dominant became slacken. His determined lips carried  
  
uncertainty. The rings around his eyes were more prominent than  
  
usual, and his face was crease with new wrinkles.  
  
Zed scowled at the sight. Pathetic, he thought. For many  
  
years he had faced situations that would drive some seasoned agents  
  
to the brink of insanity. He watched many a times when the so-called  
  
end of the world came due to plagues, invasions, and wars without  
  
blinking an eye. Threats from renowned bloodthirsty and greedy  
  
civilizations did not faze him. He was Mr. MiB. Yet here he was  
  
wasting away, all because of a few bad dreams. His control over the  
  
organization was slipping, much to the amusement of Y and his  
  
cronies. And what was worse, to add to his nightmares were blank  
  
spots in his memories. He couldn't even recall certain recent events.  
  
Looking down at his hands, he shuddered. It was the most  
  
vivid dream yet. In the latest developments of his nightmares, he  
  
saw blood. It coated his hands, flowed between his fingers. The  
  
crimson liquid saturated his shirt.  
  
Zed plunged his hands under the faucet, ignoring the  
  
stinging sensation from the scalding water. Vigorously he scrubbed  
  
them, again and again. He did not know however that the stain did  
  
not lay on his hands but within his own mind.  
  
The restroom door creaked open.  
  
Zed pulled his hands out from under the flow and looked up.  
  
There stood Agent N, with an expression of the utmost  
  
loathing.  
  
***  
  
Frank made his way to the men's restroom. Da*n humans, why  
  
did they had to meet in the most filthiest of places, he thought  
  
shuddering of what horrors lie within.  
  
He pushed the door ajar a little and peered inside to find  
  
Zed and N in a standoff. 


	5. Parts 14, 15, 16

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 14 N folded his arms and at seeing Zed's scalded hands,  
  
scoffed. "Look at you. The great chief of MiB himself is being  
  
chased by a nightmare."  
  
Zed stiffened. "I don't have time for your bullshit, N. What  
  
do you want?"  
  
The other just smiled coolly. "Come now, Zed. Is that anyway  
  
to greet an old friend?"  
  
"We're not friends N," Zed growled. "And never were. So cut  
  
to the chase."  
  
N paced about him, keeping his distance, as if Zed had a  
  
contagious disease about him. "Times changed you know. And you're  
  
not as young as you used to be." He stopped his pacing and glared at  
  
Zed. "Everyone knows you're losing your grip. MiB is starting to  
  
fall into decay and needs someone strong to lead them. Not some old  
  
loon who's lost his mind."  
  
Frank, who overheard the conversation, gaped at the audacity  
  
of N. Zed would have skinned his own furry hide if he spoke like  
  
that. Surely he'd fire N. It would have made Frank and the agents  
  
happy to see N get sent packing too. The guy was one of the most  
  
pompous jackasses anyone could ever meet this side of the planet  
  
Pluto. Frank waited in anxious anticipation, hoping Zed would tell  
  
the obnoxious creep off.  
  
The fury in Zed's eyes had built, but to Franks utter  
  
disbelief and dismay, Zed just said simply, "Please be more  
  
specific, N. Quit beating about the bush."  
  
N shrugged. "If you wish." His voice was dangerously soft.  
  
He gave Zed a piercing look. "I demand that you step down as the  
  
head of MiB and retire."  
  
Zed stared at him in shock and stepped back. Quickly he  
  
regained his composure. "What you're asking for is insane," he  
  
replied between clenched teeth. "For a long time, I've tolerated  
  
your erratic behavior. So I'm warning you."  
  
"NO!" N interjected sharply. He fixed a penetrating gaze on  
  
Zed. "I'm warning you. I don't care if you plan to fire me. But if  
  
you truly have concern for the welfare of MiB, then it is imperative  
  
that you step down from your leadership."  
  
Zed frowned. "What the hell are you talking about? The only  
  
danger is with you crazy seniors. I hadn't one day in which at least  
  
one fight has broken out."  
  
N waved an impatient hand. "That's just the beginning!" He  
  
pointed at Zed. "You're the one who would bring an end to MiB."  
  
Shaking his head vigorously, Zed scowled. "Now you're  
  
testing me. I have always allowed you to explain your rash judgment  
  
without charging it as insubordination. Yet your reasoning is  
  
bizarre and downright eccentric. You're bordering on treason."  
  
N's eyes flashed. "I may be committing treason against you,  
  
but not against MiB. If I remained silent, that act would betray my  
  
loyalty to the organization."  
  
"What evidence can you provide to show that my presence  
  
alone can destroy MIB?" Zed snarled back.  
  
N shook his head. "I cannot tell you, otherwise he'll know.  
  
I've already said too much."  
  
Zed stared at him in confusion. "Good God, N. You're making  
  
no sense. You act as if there's a conspiracy going on. Yet you still  
  
do not have evidence to support such a wild claim. Who's this `he'  
  
you're talking about?"  
  
Frank heard someone coming. Quickly he hid behind the potted  
  
alien plant next to the door.  
  
It was Y, looking more confident than usual. He swept into  
  
the restroom.  
  
From outside, Frank could hear Y asking, "Zed, is N  
  
bothering you?" Not wanting to miss a thing, Frank nudged the door  
  
open a bit and peered inside.  
  
Zed looked from N to Y. Clearly this was a spot where he did  
  
not want to be in. He was stuck between an egotistical racist and a  
  
paranoid freak. He shook his head. "No Y, but I just remembered that  
  
I have a conference. So if you excuse me gentlemen," Zed walked  
  
toward the door.  
  
Again Frank disappeared behind the fronds until Zed left and  
  
returned to his vantage point to watch the rest of the drama.  
  
The looks N and Y gave each other were venomous, to the  
  
point that Frank would have thought they attack each other.  
  
"Well, N, seems like you've made your decision," Y said  
  
oily. "I thought you would have changed your mind."  
  
"You know damn well I haven't," N replied coldly. "I refuse  
  
to sit by and let you destroy MiB. And no amount of threat will  
  
change that."  
  
Y let out a derisive laugh. "It's going to happen anyway,  
  
and there's no way you'll be able to stop it. You have almost no  
  
clue of what's going on, only speculations that give you a glimpse  
  
of the events."  
  
N narrowed his stormy-gray eyes. "I know enough that you're  
  
using Zed somehow to achieve your ends. You've got him under control  
  
somehow and I intend to expose your sick little game."  
  
Y spread out his hands. "You give us too much credit. Zed is  
  
not under our control. That could be tracked so easily. The problem  
  
lies within," he chuckled malevolently.  
  
Without warning Y found himself staring down the barrel of a  
  
Carbonizer. Likewise, however, N found himself doing the same.  
  
Frank gasped. Agents pulling out weapons on each other? What  
  
the hell was going on?  
  
Y smirked. "Don't you ever wonder why we've allowed you to  
  
live? You could be much stronger you know, strong enough to  
  
subjugate many alien races beneath you, say for example the  
  
Kryterians?"  
  
N glared at him. "You're sick, Y. You think a bribe like  
  
that would work? I ought to shoot you for such an insult."  
  
"You could," Y retorted. Then he let down his weapon,  
  
unfazed to see that N had not done likewise. Still with N's  
  
Carbonizer locked on him, Y leaned back against the wall, as cool as  
  
ever. "But the others will avenge me. And I don't have to mention  
  
the growing suspicion Zed would have towards you."  
  
N scowled, but slowly lowered his weapon.  
  
"That's a good boy," Y mocked. "You're pathetic. I don't  
  
understand why you waste your talent for Zed and his so-called  
  
agents. If you don't watch it, you'll find yourself in the  
  
Psychiatric Ward in a straight-jacket."  
  
N frowned but kept silent.  
  
Y smiled darkly. "You know Zed wouldn't have believed you  
  
even if you told the truth. He doesn't hold members of the Silver  
  
Caliber in high regard. Who would? Especially if it is nothing but a  
  
group of paranoid old-timers."  
  
He leaned closer to N and sneered. "It's only a matter of  
  
time before MiB is ours. The final phase of the plan is in place.  
  
Zeeltor is unwittingly conducting it as we speak. And you're too  
  
late to stop it." He laughed unpleasantly.  
  
At first N looked confused. Suddenly his eyes grew  
  
wide. "Damn you, you bastard!" He rushed to the door.  
  
Frank had already left the scene, racing toward the  
  
Cafeteria. He had to tell Kay.  
  
Part 15 Zeeltor whistled a tune that only made sense to him. He felt  
  
especially light-hearted today (though when was there a time he  
  
wasn't?). For once he the mystery of the missing memories could be  
  
solved, all thanks to a new device he invented.  
  
After adjusting a few bolts and nuts, he stood back to  
  
admire his work.  
  
The machine looked a cross between a can opener and a TV  
  
monitor. Wires snaked about on a coil into two helmets.  
  
The door to the lab slid open and Zed entered. He  
  
blinked. "If I may ask, Doctor, what exactly does that contraption  
  
of yours do?"  
  
Zeeltor beamed. "It's my newest medical equipment, the Neuro-  
  
Analyzer. We don't need to use any of that messy Neuro-Clay. It  
  
leaves such a mess and dries too quickly. Now this little baby will  
  
do the same function as the Neuro-Clay but without the mess, and  
  
allow the hypnotist to view their patients's recalled memories."  
  
Zed smirked to himself. Zeeltor would do well as a  
  
salesperson-er-alien, he thought. "Okay. Let's get this over with."  
  
***  
  
Kay frowned. Something was very wrong. When an agent got to  
  
be as experienced as he was, intuition played a major role in their  
  
decisions.  
  
As if to confirm his belief, Klammic came rushing around the  
  
corner. Seeing Kay and Jay, he made a bee-line for them.  
  
"Agent Kay, the Weapons Vault, someone.someone," he panted.  
  
"Whoa, slow down, Skippy," Jay remarked. "Where's the fire?"  
  
Klammic glared at him and turned to Kay. "Sir, someone has  
  
removed a large quantity of firearms from the Weapons Vault. Without  
  
permission."  
  
Jay, as if reading his partner's mind, asked, "Damn, who has  
  
those weapons now?"  
  
But Kay was ahead of him. He turned away from Klammic and  
  
began dragging Jay by the sleeve. "Come on."  
  
"Where are we going?" Jay huffed as he followed Kay.  
  
"Security."  
  
***  
  
H sat back on his chair, scratching his head in bewilderment.  
  
All about him were the deneuralization records. Unlike  
  
Zeeltor, he believed in those figures. He didn't toy with such  
  
abstract ideas like hypnosis.  
  
H reflected back on the latest bout he had with Zeeltor on  
  
exactly that matter. After 2 hours of yelling, Zeeltor gave in and  
  
promised not to use hypnosis for treatment.  
  
Smiling in satisfaction, H turned back to the reports.  
  
There. He thought the pattern was clear. The seniors, such  
  
as his former friend Y, shown no aggression toward aliens until  
  
after the deneuralization. It was as if their anger had been  
  
suppressed and suddenly unbottled. And the anger lashed out in  
  
fights. All the Psychiatric Ward has to do is force the agents to  
  
deal with their anger.  
  
H congratulated himself for finding out this fact. But the  
  
happiness was gone when he remember Zed's order for him to share any  
  
discovery he made with Zeeltor. Sighing he pressed a button on his  
  
computer, which linked to the camera and intercom in Zeeltor's lab,  
  
to find if the alien doctor was there.  
  
Indeed he was, but that was not all. H clenched his teeth.  
  
Damn that alien. He had told him specifically not to use hypnosis,  
  
much less on Zed.  
  
H got up and strode briskly out of his own lab, shattering  
  
the panes of the door as he slammed it. He was going to give that  
  
quack a piece of his mind.  
  
***  
  
X and Elle had breathed sighs of relief when Jay had left  
  
with Kay. They had enough stains on their shirts without his slobber  
  
all over it.  
  
"So human," X smirked. "How's your salad?" As if to rub it  
  
in, he slurped up a string of spaghetti.  
  
"Peachy," Elle said delicately. "You know, there is one good  
  
thing about salads."  
  
X chewed and swallowed. "Really?" he replied half-interested.  
  
"Mm-hmm." Without warning, Elle grabbed his plate of  
  
spaghetti and smooshed it unto his shirt. "Salads don't leave any  
  
stain marks," she said brightly.  
  
X scowled and pulled off the oh-so-sticky plate off and  
  
grimaced in distaste as he glanced at the enormous orange greasy  
  
stain. Bits of noodles and meatballs clung to his clothing. "Damn  
  
it, small ears. I'm already in deep trouble with Vee in Wardrobe.  
  
She's gonna kill me when she sees what happened to my suit." He  
  
peeled off a noodle.  
  
Elle smiled triumphantly. "Serves you right. Besides it's  
  
not my fault you keep getting your human disguises ripped up during  
  
your little stunts. If anything this will be a quick fix for Vee."  
  
"Glad to see you two enjoying yourselves," a voice said.  
  
The two looked about to see a pot-bellied pug below them. X  
  
and Elle gave Frank looks of disgust.  
  
"Well, if it isn't Frank the Pig," X smirked.  
  
Frank harrumphed and clambered unsteadily unto a  
  
chair. "I've already heard that one, Agent Underwear."  
  
X frowned. "Watch it, Pug."  
  
Elle chuckled. "So Frank, what's eating you?"  
  
Ignoring that comment, Frank told them the entire dialogue  
  
he overheard between Zed and N as well as the face off between N and  
  
Y.  
  
This was a bit hard to swallow for the agents. Zed  
  
tolerating such rudeness from N? N telling Zed to retire outright?  
  
Zed possibly controlled? If they didn't know better, Frank might  
  
have been telling a fictious story. What was most hardest to believe  
  
was the plot against MiB being brought about by Zeeltor and Zed.  
  
"Listen, Pug, you better not be making this up," X warned.  
  
"I swear on the Staff of Soclarion that it's true," Frank  
  
insisted.  
  
Elle looked at him. "Wasn't that the same staff that you  
  
swore on when you claimed that you were a Hyperion god," she asked  
  
flatly.  
  
Frank gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah, well, this promise is  
  
different. We've got to stop Zeeltor from doing, whatever he's  
  
doing."  
  
X and Elle rolled their eyes.  
  
"Okay Pug," X gave in. "You better be right or I'll have a  
  
new fur cover for my car mat."  
  
"Come on," Frank led the two to Zeeltor's lab.  
  
***  
  
Kay flashed his MiB clearance card and the guard allowed them  
  
to pass.  
  
They proceeded down a long dimly-lit corridor until they  
  
came to a utilitarian gray door simply marked `Security.'  
  
"Manny, we need to use your system a bit," Kay said without  
  
preamble.  
  
The squid-alien blinked its orb-like eyes and nodded.  
  
While Jay kept himself busy by avoiding the whitering  
  
tentacles of Manny, Kay typed in his password and brought up the  
  
Weapons Vault viewscreen. He rewind bit and watched the film.  
  
There. Agent N walked up to the vault's JeeDangian metal  
  
doors. Promptly he typed in the code and entered. Kay fastforwarded  
  
and watched as N left with an enormous briefcase.  
  
Kay turned to Manny. "Why didn't you inform us about this,"  
  
he demanded sternly.  
  
The alien shrugged. "He's an agent. All of you come and go."  
  
Kay cursed at the incompetence of the alien. "Come on,  
  
Slick. We've got to report this to Zed."  
  
"Report what?" Jay copied Kay's fast stride as they went  
  
into the corridor again.  
  
Kay's lips tightened. "An agent has taken an unauthorized  
  
large amount of firearms. What does that tell you?"  
  
Jay thought about that. "It could be our boy's selling MiB  
  
property or." He widened his eyes. ".or he's planning to use them  
  
to."  
  
".to create a civil war within MiB itself." Kay finished.  
  
Jay whistled. "N was caught by security last night trying to  
  
smuggle his gun into Housing Quarters. Knew that something was funny  
  
with the dude. Didn't think he'd have a score against MiB."  
  
"It's not N," Kay said as they ran through the  
  
hallway. "It's just an imposter. I've know N for a while. He has a  
  
limp from an old battle wound on his right leg, giving him a slight  
  
misbalance that could easily be overlooked. Our perp was favoring  
  
his left."  
  
"Which means," Jay thought aloud. "Only one thing for sure,  
  
our imposter could only be one person."  
  
Kay nodded. "Y. Discrimination can do funny things to a man.  
  
It drives them to do anything to hurt hose they consider lesser than  
  
them, even if it means removing those who stand up to them."  
  
Part 16 Agent U rubbed his sore shoulder where he had just rammed  
  
into F with. He winced, knowing he probably pulled something.  
  
"Mister Oxy, are you okay?" A tiny voice asked.  
  
U nodded, causing his costume's mask to wobble. The costume  
  
had been a hindrance and slowed his movements greatly during the  
  
fight. Yet the stuffing had also acted as a cushion against F's  
  
blows. Thinking fast, U used it to run into F like a football player.  
  
"Yes, Gustelluv, I'm okay." Thank God the kids couldn't see  
  
the pained expression on his face. He looked up. The  
  
kids! "Children, are any of you hurt?" U asked anxiously. He  
  
wouldn't forgive himself if one of them were injured under his  
  
charge.  
  
"No, we're fine." It was followed by other muttering and  
  
chirruping of agreement.  
  
A little alien resembling a blue teddy bear looked down at  
  
F's fallen body. "Why did he attacked us?" she squeaked.  
  
Why indeed? U picked up F's Carbonizer, and looked at the  
  
gouges it left on the wall. He shuddered at the sight. Could F's  
  
hatred go so far as to harm, no kill, alien children? The thought  
  
sickened U.  
  
He took out his com-link. "Security to MiB Daycare, we have  
  
a situation down here."  
  
U looked down at F's unconscious form, shaking his head.  
  
What on earth is going on?  
  
***  
  
The same thought was going through Elle's mind as she and X  
  
rushed after Frank. They had reached the stairwell that lead down to  
  
Zeeltor's lab.  
  
.when suddenly there was an explosion, and a cascade of  
  
mechanical debri shot upward. The ground shook violently, causing  
  
her and X to stumble.  
  
Shit! Elle thought, we're too late!  
  
"Elle, X!" A voice called.  
  
***  
  
"Now just relax. You may feel a bit pressure against your  
  
skull, but it's not going to crush it or anything of that nature,"  
  
Zeeltor chimed.  
  
Zed frowned from under the helmet. "That sounds so  
  
reassuring Doctor." Already he was having second thoughts about the  
  
whole hypnosis procedure. And watching Zeeltor baby-talking to his  
  
pet bacteria did not help convince Zed that he was in good hands.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgotten the main part for the Neuro-  
  
Analyzer." Zeeltor rushed over to his desk and opened a very  
  
cluttered drawer. After a little rummaging, he pulled out a very  
  
intergalactic dentist drill, which let out a shrill whine like a  
  
chainsaw.  
  
"So that's where I put it," Zeeltor smiled.  
  
Zed gulped. God help me.  
  
Zeeltor simply drilled in a loose nail on the wall that  
  
supported a picture of Lucy. "There, much better. Can't have the  
  
picture on crooked now, can we?"  
  
Zed sighed in exasperation. "Zeeltor, I have an appointment  
  
with Ambassador Hotchusi, so if you please."  
  
Zeeltor had a momentary blank look on his face. "Oh," he  
  
brightened. "Of course. Let's carry on shall we?"  
  
"Now you know what you're doing right?"  
  
Zeeltor waved an impatient hand. "Don't worry. I'm pretty  
  
sure I can.I do it all the time!" He snapped on a pair of virtual  
  
goggles and gloves. "Okay, here we go."  
  
***  
  
Jay ignored the stitch in his side. Big Z was in danger and  
  
that was all that mattered. Y had shown his true colors at last and  
  
was willing to do everything to achieve his gruesome ends.  
  
But why? Was his prejudice toward aliens so strong as to  
  
actually attack his own fellow agents? In the years Jay known him,  
  
the guy was a complete introvert, never sharing his feelings to  
  
anyone. He got along okay with the other agents and never stirred  
  
trouble with aliens except giving them dirty look and the occasional  
  
insult. Yet he was so out of character to actually do something  
  
about his aggression towards aliens, that Jay began to suspect foul  
  
play. No doubt Kay was thinking the same thing; yet it would affect  
  
him more, knowing Y for so long.  
  
Kay led the way, brushing a way for Jay to follow him  
  
through. The crowd stared at them, offended by their rudeness.  
  
At last, they came to the laboratory main floor.  
  
Suddenly the floor shook as if a tremor had just struck MiB  
  
and a thundering boom echoed through the corridor.  
  
"Damn," Jay hissed.  
  
Kay looked about and spotted Elle and X, led by Frank.  
  
Apparently they were heading to the same direction. "Elle, X!" he  
  
called.  
  
***  
  
The narrow corridor echoed with N's unsteady footsteps. Damn  
  
bum leg, he thought. It just had to pick this time to start acting  
  
up.  
  
Though not the most roomy of places leading to the labs, it  
  
was certainly the quickest. And N needed every second.  
  
At last the thin beam of light from his penlight came across  
  
the door marked "Labs" in peeling red paint.  
  
N gripped the handle and the bolt came undone with a heavy  
  
metallic thud. After 2 minutes in the dank passageway, light  
  
filtered in and bathed upon him. He jerked out his Carbonizer and  
  
entered.  
  
***  
  
At once Zed felt a low current of electricity flow through  
  
his body, which suddenly gone limp. Instead of bringing up feelings  
  
of alarm, Zed felt strangely calm as if lolling into the sleep that  
  
he so much needed. A bizarre sensation overclaimed him and he felt  
  
as if he was floating metaphysically; his consciousness hovering  
  
just above his body.  
  
"Zed?" A disembodied voiced called to him.  
  
Zed was barely aware of the voice and only until Zeeltor  
  
called again did he respond. "Yes, Doctor?"  
  
"I want you to allow yourself to go back, back to your past.  
  
Thirty years ago."  
  
"How?"  
  
"Recall your nightmares, face them."  
  
Zed breathed out and closed his eyes.  
  
A voice. A different voice was calling him. At first softly,  
  
but now louder. "Hit him, kill him. Kill the alien! KILL!"  
  
Zeeltor jerked back at the presence of another voice. Time  
  
for phase two. "Zed, focus on a place that you'd like to be at."  
  
Almost immediately Zeeltor found himself on a beach with Zed  
  
standing beside him.  
  
Zed blinked. "Zeeltor, what are you doing here? I thought  
  
this was a dream."  
  
"It's not a dream," Zeeltor looked about. "My invention  
  
brings us to a state in which your consciousness and unconsciousness  
  
meet. Here we'll encounter the suppressed memories."  
  
Frowning, Zed tried to look for something unusual that stood  
  
out from the serene surroundings. A lighthouse stood closeby.  
  
.and there at its threshold was the face that they couldn't  
  
identify, yet feel tat it was familiar all the same.  
  
A man dressed in MiB attire stepped out from the shadows.  
  
His blond hair was cut in a buzzcut but stood a bit higher than U's.  
  
His eyebrows were bushy and matched his hair color, and a pair of  
  
icy blue eyes stared out from beneath them, giving its owner a  
  
predatory expression. Beneath his bulbous short nose, his lips had a  
  
smirk on them, as if the mysterious figure had been waiting for  
  
their arrival.  
  
Somehow, Zed knew, he knew that here was the source of his  
  
problems. "Who are you?" he demanded.  
  
The blond-haired man gave them a sinister smile. "I'm  
  
surprised you don't remember," he murmured softly. "Oh wait, you  
  
shouldn't remember." He let out short rumbling guffaw.  
  
"Omega has a strange plan to take over MiB. A plan that  
  
would take years to accomplish," the man continued.  
  
Zeeltor frowned in puzzlement of the name. Cleary though,  
  
from the look on Zed's face, he knew what the man was talking about.  
  
But it was unnerving to see the color from Zed's face drain away and  
  
his countenance bearing a look of fear.  
  
Zed's eyes widen in bewilderment. "But how." he stammered.  
  
"It began at Flushing Meadows, which you know full well was  
  
the site of where the Baltians first made contact. Now the story  
  
goes saying that there were 5 agents that met them. That itself is a  
  
lie. There were truly 6 agents that night: Kay, H, Tee, Dee, Q, and  
  
moi."  
  
The man smirked. "Of course, I did not know that I was  
  
really from the future, being that Agents Kay and Jay neuralized me.  
  
They tried to manipulate my mind to accept aliens' presence on  
  
Earth. Then with a Quantum Time Leaper, they incidently left me at  
  
the night of the encounter.  
  
"I had been accepted as a member of MiB, still unaware of my  
  
true nature. The Baltians gave me a droid, little realizing that it  
  
contained a part of Omega. That droid released me from the spell of  
  
neuralization."  
  
A scowl of great intensity crossed the stranger's  
  
features. "I wanted revenge. I wanted an end to the arrogance of the  
  
aliens who tormented me even as I showed hospitality to them. So  
  
Omega tried to use another agent to establish man's domination over  
  
all aliens. This agent was the original chief, the one you knew as  
  
Alpha. He was exceptionally bright and ambitious. Yet he was at  
  
first hesistant to aid us. He was filled with the same bullshit of  
  
wanting to make peace with aliens. That was until Omega revealed to  
  
him the potential of mankind."  
  
Then it hit Zed. "The Verudian Cosmic Integrator."  
  
The stranger nodded. "Alpha was a failure however. Although  
  
he eventually took to heart the belief the superiority of man over  
  
alien, he only saw the personal benefits. We could not rely on him  
  
to carry on our cause. Therefore I was chosen to take his place." He  
  
glared at Zed. "Until you were picked over me."  
  
Zed smirked defiantly. "Must have been a tough decision for  
  
the agents to make."  
  
Ignoring the comment, the man continued. "I thought that our  
  
scheme had ended. But then Omega thought of plan that was.a bit  
  
drastic." The man sniffed. "Instead of telling you, how about I show  
  
you?"  
  
Suddenly the entire beach landscape was replaced with the  
  
most horrifying lab Zeeltor had ever laid eyes on. It was like  
  
stepping into one of the human horror stories he read; inside the  
  
lab of a mad scientist.  
  
There was yelp and Zeeltor turned his attention towards it,  
  
and gasped.  
  
Sprawled out on a cold metal medical bed, a young MiB agent  
  
strained hard against the shackles that bolted him to the surface.  
  
Closeby, the blond-haired man stood with a sneer on his face, taking  
  
great delight in his captive's futile struggle.  
  
Zeeltor rushed to aid the agent from his plight. However to  
  
his great surprise, his hands just went through. "Wha.?" He looked  
  
at the two, but neither showed him any recognition.  
  
Then he realized that he was only watching a memory. And  
  
that it was impossible to help the young man from his malevolent  
  
captor. All Zeeltor could do was watch the tragedy unfold.  
  
"E," a computerized voice spoke.  
  
Zeeltor jumped.  
  
From the shadows, a crab-like machine revealed itself.  
  
Zeeltor stared, amazed at its sleak and graceful design. It moved  
  
with such fluidity found only in animals of great stealth. Its body  
  
consisted of a metal that Zeeltor could not identify or recognized.  
  
A strange illumination came from within its depths, so bright that  
  
it shone through the metallic shell.  
  
"Is this the human you spoken of? The one who you say will  
  
replace Alpha?" the machine asked.  
  
E turned to face the machine, his face scowling. "Yes,  
  
Omega. Pathetic as it may be, MiB has chosen him as their new chief  
  
rather than me."  
  
The crab-machine remained silent for a few seconds. Then it  
  
leaned over the prostrate body of the agent, as if to examine him.  
  
"What the hell are you?" the agent demanded. "And what do  
  
you want with me?"  
  
The machine replied to neither question but turned back to  
  
E. "He has such spirit, this Agent Zed has."  
  
Zeeltor's mouth dropped. That was Zed lying there on the  
  
table. This must have been the past, probably 25 or 30 years ago,  
  
judging by the age Zed was now. Curiously E, as the droid had  
  
identified the blond man, had not changed a bit.  
  
E frowned. "He sure does. Gave me hell before I could  
  
finally sedate him." He pointed at the black-and-blue bruise on his  
  
face."  
  
Zed smirked. "And there's more where that came from,  
  
bastard." He jerked at his restraints as if to prove his point. He  
  
was bluffing of course. There was little else he could do.  
  
"So," E continued. "What are we to do with him."  
  
He didn't get to finish his sentence, for the droid suddenly  
  
snatched him within its lethal grasp.  
  
"H.hey," E gasped as one leg was wrapped around his throat.  
  
His eyes bulged and he panted for air. "What the hell are you doing?"  
  
Zeeltor stared in bewilderment, as the machine hovered E  
  
over Zed.  
  
A metallic scrape emitted as blades protruded from a leg. E  
  
barely let out a chilling yell before it was cut short. The scream  
  
suddenly turned into a sickening gurgle as blood spilled from the  
  
deep gash on E's neck.  
  
Zed winced in horror as the blood drizzled unto him, soaking  
  
into his clothes and filling his nose with its harsh metallic smell.  
  
It streamed unto his face and he cringed.  
  
Zeeltor stood paralyzed by the gore. But it was not over.  
  
Although it was clear that E was indeed dead, the machine held the  
  
lifeless corpse, and downpour of crimson continued to fall upon Zed.  
  
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the machine  
  
moved. Still holding the body, it lifted up another leg. The tip of  
  
the raised appendage split open, like a blossoming flower, revealing  
  
pink flesh-like material within the metal. The machine hover this  
  
over E's chest. And suddenly a blue-white orb hissed and hummed like  
  
electricity, before the let carried it over to Zed.  
  
Zed's face paled and he strained against the chains. So  
  
desperate he was that he ignored the bloody cuts produced by the  
  
chaffing of the shackles against his skin.  
  
Zeeltor and Zed yelled when the orb was forced into Zed's  
  
chest.  
  
Suddenly, the scene disappeared and Zeeltor found himself  
  
back on the beach with Zed next to him, shaken but unharmed. Both of  
  
their breathing was fast and short and their faces reflected their  
  
reaction to the previous horror.  
  
The stranger, who they know now as E, watched them, with the  
  
same look of amusement he had on his face when he watched Zed being  
  
chained down.  
  
"That little play I showed you was the price I must pay for  
  
my loyalty to Omega," E said coolly. "I lost my own identity and had  
  
to take yours, Zed. Omega and I worked quickly. We purged every  
  
memory there is of me. I had to play behind the scenes of the most  
  
illustrious and secretive agency in the world. For 6 months I wasted  
  
away in MiB's Archive Vault, practicing your persona, waiting for my  
  
shining moment. It came and I got everything ready. However," he  
  
snarled, "One of your agents unwittingly trapped me inside your  
  
subconscious. I lost control of your body. And I waited until my  
  
liberation came with the mind-link you had, Zed. Yet I could only  
  
float in and out of control. Tonight however, my men had set the  
  
stage and only await for Dr. Zeeltor's cue."  
  
Zeeltor was devastated. He.played a role in the part,  
  
unwittingly, but just the same?  
  
Zed glared at the stranger. "What men? 30 years is a bit too  
  
long to wait patiently."  
  
"Fool," the other admonished. "My men have laid in wait for  
  
the deneuralization, from whence they would awaken ready for my  
  
coming."  
  
Zed's eyes widen. "But that would mean."  
  
The stranger let out another round of laughter. "You thought  
  
right, old man. The very men you count as friends, who lived with  
  
you, the ones you swore to watch over, are the very ones that will  
  
turn around and destroy you. Only now are their true natures shown.  
  
The deneuralizations released them from their false personas that  
  
you've long since remembered and known. I have set them against your  
  
younger agents, who are outnumbered and unaware. I have accomplished  
  
what Alpha had failed to do, destroy MiB, but doing so from within."  
  
Zed automatically reached for his hidden sidearm, but his  
  
hand grabbed at nothing. Damn, this was only a dream.  
  
"Here," E smiled darkly. "Let me show you how it's done." He  
  
extended his arm and a Carbonizer Cannon appeared in his hand.  
  
Zed ran and grabbed Zeeltor, barreling themselves behind a  
  
shipwreak on the shoreline. The spot they had just stood suddenly  
  
became an enormous crater.  
  
The hum of the Cannon meant it was charging for another  
  
pulse. Zed dragged Zeeltor behind another wreak. Damn, Zed thought,  
  
that weapons too powerful. But wait.if I could just get close.  
  
Zeeltor get to safety, I got an idea."  
  
"But."  
  
Another explosion nearby cut off Zeeltor's protest. To  
  
Zeeltor's great surprise, Zed had began to run towards the armed  
  
stranger.  
  
The man looked up from the crosshair on his gun in surprise.  
  
Zed caught him with a sharp right hook, sending him to the  
  
ground. The weapon in his hand was dislodged and Zed took it.  
  
"Did you forget," Zed smirked, directing the weapon at  
  
E. "That the Cannon takes a few seconds to recharge right? Oh, guess  
  
not. Now answer my question, who are you?"  
  
"Moffat," the man said as he spat a gooble of blood from his  
  
cut lip. "Edmund Clark Moffat."  
  
Something triggered in Zed's mind. That name sounded  
  
familiar. "Listen close buddy. Get the hell out of my head," Zed  
  
growled.  
  
Moffat grinned. "I love to really, but it's not my choice.  
  
You remember when I told you about me being forced into your body?"  
  
Zed gripped his gun tightly.  
  
"You see," Moffat continued. "I'm not alone."  
  
"Zed, look out!" Zeeltor yelled.  
  
But it was too late. The ground split opened and from a  
  
sandy pit emerged a spider-like machine. Before Zed could target it,  
  
it scuttled at lighting sped across the dunes and seized the chief  
  
of MiB. The gun dropped to the ground and Zed struggled to get out  
  
of its iron grip.  
  
Moffat got up and simply dusted the sand from  
  
himself. "Sorry, Zed. But we no longer find you.useful."  
  
From the mouth of the spider came a gruesome hypodermic  
  
needle. Zed screamed as it was inserted into his left clavicle.  
  
"Zed!" Zeeltor rushed to save him. When suddenly the beach  
  
and everyone there disappeared. All he could se was the green visor  
  
of the helmet.  
  
Tearing the helmet off, Zeeltor glanced anxiously at where  
  
Zed laid.  
  
Zed screamed and his body twitched violently. By Judenia's  
  
Crown, he's going into shock, Zeeltor realized.  
  
Zeeltor snagged a syringe from a stand and began filling it  
  
with a sedative. He just had to calm him down. As the fluid from the  
  
bottle went into the needle, Zeeltor did his best to ignore the  
  
rapidly beating heart monitor. The neural activity monitor blared  
  
madly and the line on the screen jerked spasmodically.  
  
.suddenly, the brain monitor flatlined.  
  
Zeeltor's heart skipped a beat. No, it just can't be.Zed  
  
couldn't be.His eyes darted to the heart monitor, which indicated a  
  
steady rhythm. That's odd. The heart monitor showed life signs, yet  
  
the brain activity was.  
  
Zeeltor placed his needle unto the surgical tray and pulled  
  
off the helmet from Zed's head.  
  
With baited breath he waited.  
  
.and the neural activity monitor began to beep steadily.  
  
Zeeltor sighed in relief. "Zed, Zed. Wake up," he called  
  
urgently. He would never forgive himself if the chief of MiB was  
  
brain damaged. Zeeltor wiped the cold perspiration from his brow and  
  
a few drops fell unto Zed's face.  
  
Zed grimaced and stirred. His eyes opened.  
  
"Oh, thank the cosmos," Zeeltor exclaimed.  
  
Suddenly Zed sat up and wrapped his hands around Zeeltor's  
  
thin neck. Zeeltor looked at Zed in shock. But it was no longer Zed.  
  
The eye lost their fatherly and wise sparkle, only malevolence  
  
dwelled there. A lust to kill burned within them.  
  
Zeeltor looked about the lab. There has to be something to.THERE! He  
  
frantically reached for the sedative-filled needle, all the while  
  
his vision became blurred from the lack of oxygen. His fingers  
  
fumbled about and the needle dropped to the ground, too far out of  
  
reach.  
  
Zeeltor gasped and pried at Zed's hands. Oh, Quetzalcoatl, he was  
  
going to die. Zed's hands tightened, wringing the very life from  
  
Zeeltor.  
  
Suddenly a shot rang out and Zeeltor felt the grip about his  
  
neck had relented. He dropped to his knees and fainted.  
  
Zed howled in pain as blood spilled from the cut on his hand.  
  
"Freeze it, big guy." N glared at Zed from behind his gun.  
  
Then he fingered his gun setting to stun. To Zed, "Keep your hands  
  
where I can see them," he hissed.  
  
Zed sneered but complied. "You call yourselves protectors if  
  
Earth yet you allowed the aliens to come and exploit our resources  
  
and for what? Despite the favors you gave them, they insist on being  
  
called superior than us. We are merely their colonies to them." He  
  
let out a derisive laugh. "Well, you can go to hell with them for  
  
all I care."  
  
What the hell is he babbling about? N thought. He tightened  
  
his grip on his gun.  
  
Then came voices from outside the lab, and the door slid  
  
open.  
  
N sighed in relief when he saw they were not Y's agents,  
  
rather they were the younger agents. Then he realized, the agents  
  
had their weapons.trained on him.  
  
An agent whom he recognized as Janice stepped forward, her  
  
MiB Special Issue was still trained on him. "N, just put your weapon  
  
on the ground.slowly." An expression of sympathy appeared on her  
  
face, as if to plead that he do so for his best interest.  
  
N shook his head. "No you don't understand. Zed is being  
  
controlled."  
  
"Give it up N," another agent called. "Your attempt to  
  
assassinate Zed was revealed to us by a reliable source."  
  
N gritted his teeth. Who would.of course, Y.  
  
"Disarm him," Zed ordered. "And get Zeeltor to the  
  
Infirmary."  
  
N scowled in disgust of how the impostor had managed to play  
  
Zed's authoritive charisma flawlessly.  
  
Janice approached N to take his Carbonizer. That's when it  
  
happened.  
  
N sensed the trajectory of the shot, which to the other  
  
agents was silent and non-existant. "Get down!" N pulled Janice unto  
  
the floor with him. One of Zeeltor's inventions exploded violently  
  
and N felt his ears pop. 


	6. Part 17

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 17  
  
Elle looked up and saw Jay and Kay running towards her. She only nodded in acknowledgement and the four of them ran down the flight of stairs leading to Zeeltor's lab.  
  
Upon reaching the ground floor, they found hell itself.  
  
Shots were fired but at no specific target. Agent was fighting against fellow agent. Many lay unconscious or dead on the ground, as their blood pooled about the. The younger agents were battling their elders, and found themselves losing.  
  
Kay curled his lip in mixed anger and shock. Then setting his lips grimly, he addressed Jay, Elle, and X. "Okay people. Tell our agents to retreat. Bring them to Flushing Stadium." He narrowed his eyes. "Don't kill anyone unless necessary."  
  
The others nodded and spanned out.  
  
Kay scanned the room, yet there was no sign of Zed or Y. Then he spotted Zeeltor's fallen form.  
  
He dodged and crawled to the unconscious physician. Heaving the Zekklom over his shoulder, Kay stood and turned.  
  
There was a yell and Kay moved back, barely missing the knife that was aimed to plunge into his heart. Easily, Kay grabbed the attacker's wrist and twisted it, and the agent fell to his knees, trying futilely to get away. With a quick hit to the back of the head, the agent dropped to the ground, motionless.  
  
Jay stared at the towering dark form of Agent TW. "Come on, man, you wouldn't attack a brother now would ya?' Jay fingered his Icer.  
  
TW snarled and launched his bulk at Jay, who simply pivoted away and iced TW.  
  
Jay shook his head. This just wasn't right. Who was friend and who was foe? They all looked the same.  
  
X and Elle met back to back, firing as they circled the lab.  
  
"Damn it, who's on our side?' X dodged a shot that almost took off his arm.  
  
Elle shok her head. "Don't know really. Just ice anyone you've seen in the company of Y."  
  
Suddenly a series of clicks from triggers stopped them in their tracks, as some agents surrounded them in ambush.  
  
X frowned. "Or anyone who's out to get me right?" he asked flatly.  
  
Elle bit her lip. "Yeah, that too."  
  
They were about to put down their weapons, when Elle's eye caught sight of a massive tank containing green goop. It was the Paralysis Ooze that Jay had been trapped in, Elle recalled. She caught the eye of her partner, who nodded, clearly aware of her plan.  
  
"GO!" Elle yelled.  
  
Together they shot at the immense tank and rolled out of the way as it exploded, sending a flood of the green substance on the unsuspecting agents. Once the landslide had stopped, Elle and X stood back in admiration of their work.  
  
X laughed at frozen forms of the hapless humans. "You know," he said to Elle. "They actually look good in green."  
  
Elle smiled and shook her head. "Bad," she remarked.  
  
Suddenly, H entered in through the lab doors. His eyes widened at the chaotic scene before him. "What the."  
  
A shot from a Carbonizer cut his words, and he dove behind a desk.  
  
.but that was a mistake, for an armed agent was hiding at that exact spot.  
  
H suddenly found himself taken hostage and a gun pressed to his temples.  
  
"Don't move," the agent ordered, nudging his weapon deeper into H's flesh.  
  
"Please, don't." H pleaded.  
  
"Shut up!" The gun pressed harder.  
  
"HEY!"  
  
The agent looked up to see who yelled, and a blow to his head rendered him unconscious. H grazed just past before the misfired shot from the agent's gun almost passed through his skull.  
  
H breathed a sigh of relief but froze on seeing N.  
  
N nodded to him. "Don't worry, friend. I don't bite." He tossed H a Deharmonizer. "Now let's get the hell out of here." He strode briskly away.  
  
At first, H was reluctant to follow N; after all, he was a bit funny in the head and H still didn't know what side he was on. Then a stray shot whizzed by and he ducked instinctively. Deciding it was better to take his chances with N than to end up as mince meat in the battle, H stifled his doubts and went in pursuit of N.  
  
"Slick, carry Zeeltor to safety," Kay called over the din. He couldn't fight like this, and not with a civilian on his hands.  
  
Jay frowned. "But."  
  
Kay turned sharply. "Just get the Doc somewhere." He narrowed his eyes. "I'll be fine."  
  
Hesistantly, Jay snatched up Zeeltor from Kay's arms and took off toward the doors.  
  
"X, Elle," Kay shouted. "Cover Jay."  
  
The two nodded and left.  
  
Kay rolled behind a counter as a cabinet next to him exploded.  
  
"Sir." Kay turned and saw Janice with a few other young agents. "We're surrounded. They got up hemmed in," Janice panted.  
  
He could trust this group. So far only the seniors were attacking him. "Well," he replied brusquely. "Let's make an exit, shall we?"  
  
"Kay!" Frank rushed up to him panting hard. "There's more agents stuck on the eastern wall of the lab. They need help."  
  
Kay nodded. He looked to Janice. Though only a rookie, she had risen in recognition beyond her status. The young lady was praised for her quick and decisive moves. Well, Kay thought, she'll have her skills tested now. "Agent," he said to her. "Follow me. The rest of you retreat to Flushing Stadium."  
  
Together they weaved their way through the chaos. Kay assessed that Janice did have the promising capabilities for a field agent. Her aim was true and she demonstrated quick reflexes. Kay placed a mental note to recommend her for the field.  
  
Under the heavy firing, they came unto the other half of the group. Judging from their faces, Kay could tell many of them were around his partner's age or even younger, and could not be relied to defend themselves.  
  
Then an idea hit him. "All of you, divide into two groups. The first comes with me and clears the way. The rest go with Janice and cover behind us," Kay ordered.  
  
The plan worked perfectly, but Kay wished they moved faster. Something told him they should press their luck.  
  
He was right.  
  
Just as they neared the doors, the ceiling above them exploded, sending a shower of plaster down unto them.along with a lethal weapon. A bizarre crab-machine fell unto the ground, right between the group, cutting them off from each other.  
  
It let out an earsplitting whine and rushed at one of the rookie agents. And Kay's sharp eyes caught sight of the deadly blades protruding from its legs.  
  
Instinctively his hand pulled from his breast pocket a semi- transparent cube and hurled it.  
  
The agent screamed and shielded her head. On looking up however, the machine scratched harmlessly on the surface of the glass-cube that surrounded her.  
  
Seeing its quarry well-guarded, the machine turned on Kay, but he was ready. He whipped out his Restrainer and fired again and again, rolling out of danger as he did so.  
  
Green bindings wrapped about the multiple legs of the machine, causing it to stumble and crash unto the ground.  
  
Kay picked himself up quickly. Those binds won't hold for long. He ran over to the imprisoned agent and deactivated the cube. He was helping her, when.  
  
"Agent Kay, LOOK OUT!" Janice yelled.  
  
Kay turned, seeing the machine had freed itself. He took aim and fired.  
  
.and missed as the droid launched itself into a flying leap at him.  
  
The blades inched toward his neck, when suddenly a coat of ice surrounded the metal appendage, rendering it useless as a weapon.  
  
Looking up Kay saw Jay, who smiled and saluted, his Icer poised and ready.  
  
Kay pushed past the leg and rolled under a desk. Peering out, he saw that the machine had its attention on Jay. His partner hurled aside as the droid brushed by. However Jay did not make a clean getaway.  
  
Jay gripped his shoulder. Retracting his hand back unto his Icer, he was alarmed to see his blood mixed with some kind of blue ooze. Then he realized.he was poisoned.  
  
Kay saw his dilemma. He rolled out from under the table and fired a succession of shots at the retreating droid, which had scurried up into the ventilation systems again.  
  
"Slick!" Kay's brow furrowed as he saw the inflammation of the wound.  
  
Jay looked at his partner but the face he knew well suddenly started to blur. "Kay, I feel.dizzy."  
  
Kay gritted his teeth. "Don't panic. That will make it spread faster." Damn, the poison was taking effect too quickly. He had to slow it down. Pressing his lips unto Jay's wound, he began sucking at it.  
  
"Yo, Kay. What are you."  
  
Janice came up quickly. "He's trying to suck the poison out. Stay still," she ordered. Her lips tightened as she began ripping the cuff of a sleeve. Looking at the other agents, "Keep a look out, it may come back," she warned them.  
  
Kay spat out a mouthful, then resumed. It went like that for a couple more times. Finally he drew back, wiping his mouth. "Janice help me carry him."  
  
She nodded and wrapped the wound with her torn cuff. Together, Kay and Janice shouldered and carried Jay from the battlescene. 


	7. The Cover Up Syndrome Part 18

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 18  
  
U smiled. "Okay kids, it's snack time!"  
  
His pupils cheered, warbled, crooned, and made other noises of approval.  
  
The kids deserved it, U told himself. He pitied them. After the trauma they faced from F, only the presence of MiB security was U able to coax the children to calm down.  
  
"No Jasmine, you must share," an insistent voice was saying close by.  
  
Coming over, U sighed in relief. "Thank you ever so much for your help, M." He moved aside and barely missed a collision with two running kids. "Sometimes they're quite a handful, especially in a herd."  
  
An Asian female agent straightened herself and gave a dimpled smile. Unlike most of the agents, she was dressed quite differently.well obviously, due to the fact that she was a nun. Her black cape, white habit, and black veil still kept the traditional MiB colors, though. "You know that I take great pleasure in taking care of children, U. And you're welcome to call me anytime to help out," she said as she plucked an almost thrown Lego from a Gerainian child's tentacles.  
  
U nodded appreciatively and strolled over to the fridge. Today's snack, to U's dismay was Coronian zodberrycake with Yuzin cream. He shook his head. "I kept telling the chefs that the kids needed healtier food."  
  
"What's wrong with this" Taking the plate from U, M began cutting it. Seeing the uneasy look on his face, she smirked. "Oh, come on. It's just a little treat for the kids, especially after.you-know-what," she said gently.  
  
"Yeah, but," U flustered. "It's bad for them; ruins their appetite, has too much sugar, and." At this point, he was near panic. ".and it makes them hyper," he finished with a shudder.  
  
This earned a light-hearted laugh from the nun. "Well," she replied as she started handing out slices, "I think we can handle them."  
  
U's eyebrows moved upward as he shook his head. "Okayyy.if you want a migraine like Zed's, be my guest. And don't say I didn't warn you."  
  
"Always the dramatist. You'd make even Klammic look serene."  
  
U was about to protest, but stopped when M began giggling. Giving in he smiled too. "And you're always the kidder," he remarked.  
  
M beamed as if he complimented her, and picked up the empty plates.  
  
Suddenly a loud siren came on, startling many of the children. Some began crying.  
  
M frowned. What was going on? The children needed peace for their nap time. Being a recent addition to MiB, she looked to U for an explanation for the interruption and was startled by the grim expression on his face.  
  
"U, what's going."  
  
But he paid her no heed. "Kids, you know the drill. Get in line quickly. Don't take anything with you. Find your Safety Buddy."  
  
Confused by his sudden seriousness, M helped him nonetheless. After two quick-counts of the children, they rushed them out of the Daycare Room and proceeded down a flight of stairs.  
  
As they ascended, M looked to U. "Fire drill?" she asked.  
  
U shook his head solemnly. "I wish. That alarm means Code Red."  
  
"What's Code."  
  
"It mean," he narrowed his eyes. "Immediate Danger."  
  
***  
  
X paced about on the green field. "Damn, what is taking them?" he asked agitatedly.  
  
His partner sat nearby, sitting beside Zeeltor. Despite her efforts to awaken him, the Zekklom was still out cold. And what worried her the most was that there were dark-blue bruises around his neck. Clearly, someone had attempted to strangle him. Elle hoped that nothing was broken. Hearing X, she looked up. "More importantly, Cowboy, we should hope that they held back the assault. We're running out of places to retreat."  
  
Turning to her, X gritted his teeth. "You mean places to hide. This shouldn't be happening. We should have been able to stand our ground," he growled.  
  
"That would have been possible, except the fact they a) outnumber us; b) outgun us, and c) have a killing machine that could slaughter us like flies," Elle replied bluntly.  
  
X continued his pacing. "We should be back there. We should do something."  
  
Elle frowned. "Yes, we should do something." Getting up, she handed X a roll of bandages. "Now start taking care of the wounded."  
  
Scowling, X took the roll from her. "What am I, a nurse?" he mumbled as he headed for a young agent with a bad Carbonizer burn.  
  
Sighing in exasperation of her difficult partner, Elle was about to return to tending Zeeltor when she saw movement in the tunnel that they escaped from. Automatically, she reach for her gun but stopped when she saw who it was.  
  
But relief yielded to tension when she saw that Kay and a young dark agent she did not recognized supporting Jay and walking briskly toward her. Even from afar, Elle could tell that Jay was injured badly.  
  
A groan from behind startled her and she turned to see Zeeltor had finally stirred.  
  
Zeeltor and Elle stared in horror as Kay and Janice place Jay unto the ground. Jay was shaking violently and the wound on his arm had swollen greatly.  
  
"What happened?" Elle asked as she covered Jay's body with a blanket and propped up his feet.  
  
Frank padded up from behind Kay. "An droid ambushed us and pumped some kind of poison into him."  
  
Elle shook her head. "That doesn't help. Without identifying the poison, we can't treat him."  
  
"Maybe we don't need to know the poison," Zeeltor said aloud.  
  
All eyes were on him.  
  
Looking unsure of himself, Zeeltor shook his head. "But I can't use my invention on him. It's not tested yet."  
  
Kay crouched down beside him. "Whatever it is, use it. We don't have time to be picky." He looked back at his partner, his lips tightened grimly.  
  
"But." Zeeltor stammered. "My Neuro-Analyzer, Zed, he."  
  
Elle fixed him with a penetrating gaze. "Doctor, it's not the time to blame yourself for Zed's condition. Jay needs help. Now, can we count on you?"  
  
Zeeltor frowned, caught in an inner struggle. His eyes traveled unto the helpless figure of Jay. Then he felt a great determination seize him, as if he found the strength he needed. Whipping out a small bottle containing an orange fluid, Zeeltor began filling a syringe with the substance. Quickly saying a quick prayer to Quetzalcoatl, he injected the substance into Jay.  
  
Suddenly, the seizure stopped, and everyone waited. Moments ticked by slowly.  
  
"Jay?" Kay called quietly.  
  
It was as if Jay had rose form the dead. The color returned to his face and he opened his eyes. Jay gave his partner a smile. "And our boy's back in black," he said.  
  
Everyone sighed in relief. Kay, who had his hands clenched, looked in surprise to see his knuckles had gone white and quickly released his fingers. Looking back to Jay, he smiled. "Good to have you back, Slick."  
  
Jay examined his arm, surprised that the wound had almost closed up. He whistled. "Yo, Doc. What's the Miracle Juice?"  
  
Zeeltor smiled. "It's just a little something I've worked on for a while. It acts like clay and molds to the shape of any poison's molecules, neutralizing the poison.  
  
X, who had came up at the last minute, frowned as Jay sat up. "Oh darn, he's not dead?" Jay shot him a scowl.  
  
Elle pinched X hard. "Okay, enough pleasantries. Now what are we going to do?"  
  
Kay straightened himself. "First thing's first. We need to make sure we're on the same page here, so we need to figure out the situation."  
  
X pretended to think hard. "Uh, let's see here: Disgruntled agents snapped after 30 years and open fire on their own men?" Elle slapped him upside the head.  
  
"Yet why?" Janice pondered.  
  
"It's the deneuralizations," came a voice.  
  
Everyone turned.  
  
Strolling up the field casually, were agents H and N.  
  
"The problem started after the deneuralizations," H continued. "I've noticed that pattern in the records."  
  
Jay cocked an eyebrow. "Meaning."  
  
"Meaning," N finished. "That the aggression towards aliens laid dormant within the agents, unresolved. The deneuralization served as the corkpopper."  
  
A realization hit Zeeltor. "I remember! That man, inside Zed's dream, his name was.Moffat!"  
  
Everyone exchanged confused glances, for none of them could recall the name.  
  
"He was inside Zed's mind all these years, waiting for something to release him," Zeeltor tried to explain.  
  
"You see, Moffat somehow ended up at Flushing Meadows on the night of the First Encounter, yet he was from the future. Jay and Kay had sent him there by use of a Quantum Time Leaper after he was neuralized. Unwittingly, the Baltians gave Moffat a droid that contained someone or something called Omega."  
  
N shot Zeeltor a hard stare, causing the Zekklom to halt. N shared an uneasy look with Kay.  
  
"Yo, Kay. Who's this Omega dude?" Jay asked.  
  
Kay's lips tightened. "I'll tell you later. First, let the Doctor finish his story." He nodded to Zeeltor.  
  
"Well, Omega plotted with Moffat to take over MiB. At fist they tried using Alpha. (Kay glowered.) He failed to meet their use due to his greed and so it was settled that E, that's what Moffat was called as an agent, should become the chief to manipulate the agency from behind the scenes. Needless to say, Zed was chosen instead, which almost ended their plan.  
  
"But then they kipnapped Zed, and Omega killed E and took something from his body and placed it into Zed."  
  
Kay nodded. "It's the Soul Integrator." Seeing the perplexed looks on everyone's faces, he ignored them and said, "Please continue Doctor."  
  
"Then there was this great battle within Zed's mind and E won with the help of Omega," Zeeltor finished.  
  
"So, the agents who attacked us are E's men?" Janice asked.  
  
Zeeltor nodded. "Most definitely. E said the men that are under our protection are the same men that will destroy us."  
  
Jay whistled. "So this E dude covered his tracks by neuralizing everyone that helped him and waited."  
  
Elle frowned. "But that would mean that the identity of those agents are."  
  
"Nothing but lies," X finished.  
  
"And they really do want to shis-kabob us," Frank gulped. "And I thought that it was something they ate."  
  
"Still," Jay retorted. "Why wait 30 years? Sounds like a sorry plan to me."  
  
Shaking his head, Zeeltor replied, "They didn't expect to. E only neuralized them while he practiced Zed's persona for 6 months."  
  
"So what happened?" Elle questioned.  
  
Kay looked to H, who had remained strangely quiet for most of the time. "Care to fill us in on that old friend?"  
  
N smirked, clearly enjoying the tight spot H was in.  
  
Scowling H turned back to the others, and addressed them, avoiding their eyes. " Zed had almost died thirty years ago.because of me."  
  
"Of course I was not aware of who was possessing him but, dam, the imposter acted just like Zed that I didn't suspect anything," H continued wearily. "Back in that day, I had been just like Zeeltor; coming up with grand ideas and excited to try them out. I came up with a device that would increase telepathic potential, and Zed, rather E, was interested in it. He convinced me that he wanted to use it on himself so as to defend himself against any mental attack by any telepath." He sighed. "My invention backfired however."  
  
"That's why I suspected Zed couldn't be trusted," N growled. "I had noticed the small but significant changes in his personality after that incident."  
  
"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute," Frank piped up. "I saw you going after Zed with your hand on the trigger."  
  
N nodded. "I don't deny it. But then again you too would do the same if you had seen what I had. Remember the fire in Zeeltor's lab?"  
  
Everyone nodded. Zeeltor on the other hand was confounded. "But it wasn't just."  
  
"That was no accident," N said grimly. "I manage to snag the security cam in time before the flames got to it. The surveillance revealed that Zed had started the fire. But that was the beginning. For a while I tailed him, noticing that he was often within the company of Y or his cohorts. Zed would deny he'd ever met up with them or excuse himself as trying to deter their efforts, but I knew he was lying. Their moves got so bold as to delete vital defense files, that I replaced. They threatened to exterminate me, so I carried my sidearm everywhere."  
  
"Even into the Residence Hall?" Jay asked, remembering the disturbance there.  
  
"Of course," N answered matter-of-factly.  
  
Jay frowned. "And what about you Kay?" Looking at his partner, "Didn't you think somethin' was up?"  
  
Shaking his head, Kay replied, "Not really. Like H said, E had posed as Zed so well, I couldn't sense anything either."  
  
"Also, you were a bit green too, don't forget," N sneered.  
  
Kay glared at him, but only pursed his lips.  
  
"Now that we're aware of the situation, could you please tell us who's this Omega," Janice pressed, breaking the tension between the older men.  
  
Kay and N gave each other dark looks, then N drew away to answer. "This case was kept classified and filed in the Silver Caliber Department. According to our records, Omega was a massive biological satellite with god- like powers. Built by a race that occupied the Verudian planet long before the modern-day Verudians inhabitants, its purpose was to elevate its makers."  
  
"Elevate?" Jay interjected. "What do you mean 'elevate'?"  
  
"Well, the tablet that the S.C. interpreted wasn't all too clear. Yet we know for sure that the makers began a chain of conquests, much like the Romans. What was strange was that they were in the same technological age we are in today, except with moderate telepathic abilities. Yet somehow their culture accelerated and the people jumped over many technological ages."  
  
"So, the droid is typically a living relic," Elle said.  
  
N nodded. "Appears so. Omega itself disappeared along with its makers after 3000 years of ruling a third of the intergalactic nations. Only remnants of Omega are left, which the modern Verudians lost the art of constructing such a device and so confinscated and placed the pieces into what we call Cosmic Integrators, which you all know that it enables the user to integrate any physical parts of any race into the user's body."  
  
Jay stared at Kay, knowing full well that his partner seen the corruption the Cosmic Integrator caused to Alpha, his mentor. Jay knew that even despite the close bond he formed with Kay, he would never be able to phantom the hell his partner went through. And what was most tragic was that the tumor was embedded into Kay's soul, and Jay had no idea how to remove it.  
  
Catching his stare, Kay gave him a weak smile, but Jay knew it hid the pain within.  
  
X whistled. "So what do we do now? Do we kill all those traitorous bastards?"  
  
Elle kicked him, and he glowered ("I was just kidding.).  
  
Kay shook his head. "Keep your weapons on stun; we are peacekeepers not executioners. Now we're going to divide into three teams. Janice come with Jay and me. Elle, X, take Frank (X and Frank glared at each other). Zeeltor go with N and H.  
  
"There are three gates into MiB: The North, South, and West Gates. My team will take the North. Elle's take South, and N's take West. Our objective is to find Zed and immobilize him. Free any prisoners you find, and use them to surround Y's men," Kay finished. "Any questions?"  
  
Everyone mumbled negative.  
  
"Okay, let's move out." 


	8. Part 19

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 19  
  
"Children, stay together," M shouted. She looked back to U, who was escorting those in the back. "U, did we lose anyone?"  
  
U glanced about. "No, I think we're." His eyes widened. "Oh, d-." He stopped, remembering that he was among children. "Ambassador Tstetui's son, Jasuki. He's not here!"  
  
Both of them looked about desperately. But there was no sign of the missing child.  
  
M and U almost collided into the children ahead of them, who had stopped altogether.  
  
"Kids, keep moving. We've got to get out of here before."  
  
"Um, U," M said weakly. She beckoned for him, still staring straight ahead.  
  
U sighed. "Now, wha." He froze.  
  
F stood before them, with a sinister smile on his lips. In his arms, struggling, was Jasuki. F pressed his knife closer to the child's blue throat.  
  
Something in U snapped. Before he knew it, he whipped out his Carbonizer and shot F, point-blank in the forehead. The Carbonizer shot revibrated in the hall.  
  
Jasuki screamed as something red drizzled unto him. As his captor's arm slackened, he pulled away and ran to safety.  
  
U gazed, staring at what he had done. His breath coming in gasp, and a constricting lump caught in his throat. It was the look on F's face. His features were caught between fear and surprise, shocked that U was capable of doing such a thing.  
  
An eternity seemed to drift by, before what was left of F slumped and fell heavily to the ground.  
  
The Carbonizer from U's hand clattered to the ground, and its owner dropped to his knees next to it.  
  
"I.I," U wheezed. "I just killed.an agent." His face turned a sickly white.  
  
M bit her lip. She knew she had to comfort him, but knew it was not the time. The gunfire will have attracted attention. They had to get out of there.  
  
"Come on, Sweetie," M said softly to Jasuki, scooping the child up in her arms. Then she approached U. "They'll be more coming. We've got to go." She snagged one of his sleeves.  
  
U jerked it from her. "Leave me," he said quietly.  
  
M glared at him. "Don't be stupid. They'll kill you."  
  
The other said nothing but sat there, broken.  
  
"U, the children, they need you. Now are you just going to let those barbarians slaughter them?" M demanded sharply.  
  
He blinked. The children! U looked up and saw Jasuki staring at him helplessly. Touched by the child's innocence and trust, U knew.  
  
There were several shout down the hall and M gave him a pleading look.  
  
U pulled himself up. He'll deal with his conscious later, the children came first. "Let's go."  
  
The trek to the surface seemed to take forever. And U cursed at how poor the construction of the building was. Though snuggled below ground to protect MiB from aerial assault, the building also acted as a trap. And if there were armed agents at the gates on the surface level, they were bottled in.  
  
Finally they reached the garage on the surface level.  
  
"Come on, get in quickly," U ordered opening the door of a van. The children obeyed and clambered in.  
  
"Hey, STOP!"  
  
U and M turned and saw a group of agents running up to them. and they were armed.  
  
U looked to the nun. "Get the children out of here. I'll deal with them."  
  
"STOP!"  
  
U looked back. Wait a minute, he thought. That's.  
  
Jay, Kay, and Janice ran up to them.  
  
"Agent," Kay looked to Janice. "You drive the children out to Flushing Meadows." To U and M, "We need you two here."  
  
Janice smiled at Jay, who gave here a puppy-dog look. "Sorry, Hot- Stuff, some other time perhaps." She leaned over and pecked his on the cheek. Then she got into the car and drove it out to the tunnel to Flushing Stadium.  
  
Jay scowled at Kay. His partner sure had a way of ruining his fun.  
  
Kay caught his look and smirked. "Duty before pleasure, Slick."  
  
The four of them went back down, back into the hell below.  
  
***  
  
Elle, X, and Frank proceeded cautiously down the corridor.  
  
"I don't know what Kay was thinking when he put you with us," X said irritably to Frank. "You don't even have opposable thumbs."  
  
The pug growled at X. "And it'll be a lot safer for us if you didn't come."  
  
"What do you mean by that, mutt?"  
  
"I mean that wherever you go, destruction follows," Frank shot back.  
  
X fought the impulse to give the pug a swift kick.  
  
Elle sighed. Why did she get stuck with these two? "Will you guys just stop it? Your bickering is going to attract trouble." She glanced around the corner, and seeing the coast clear, went forward.  
  
Coming upon the kitchenette, they could hear voices within. Elle and X looked at each other. Frank gulped.  
  
The door slammed open as they shoulder it. Guns at the ready, they looked for a target, but no one was there.  
  
Frank sighed. "Huh, no one here."  
  
X frowned. "I know I'm not hearing voices, pug. Big ears, you know."  
  
Elle swept about the room slowly, when her foot stepped into a puddle of brown liquid.  
  
Frank padded over and sniffed at it. "Hmm. Double Moucha Latte. It's the good stuff though. Must be from Zed's office."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Elle opened a cabinet and found the culprits.  
  
The worms yelped as they fell out.  
  
X shook his head. "It's sad that we had to save them first."  
  
"Elle, X!" One of the worms perked. "You're not one of them are you?"  
  
"Let's see here," X replied sarcastically. " If we were, we would have shot you worthless coffee maggots."  
  
The worms blinked. "Point taken."  
  
"Okay, guys. Tell me, are there any other imprisoned?" Elle asked urgently.  
  
"Mmmm." The worms scratched their chins.  
  
"Don't think too hard," Frank smirked. "Don't want y'all to hurt yourselves."  
  
"There are a few held in the gym," one said.  
  
"And in the cells," another quipped.  
  
"Which had the least guards," Elle asked.  
  
"The gym!" said two. "The cells!" the other two exclaimed. They looked at each other, then "Both!" they all said.  
  
X scowled. Damn useless invertebrates. "Well," he said to Elle. "Wanna try the the gym?"  
  
Elle nodded. "It doesn't have defense systems. We'll burst in, liberate the agents there, then focus on the prison."  
  
The worms looked nervously at each other. "Um, we'll stay right here."  
  
Elle shook her head. "Oh, no. You're coming with us. Believe me," she continued seeing the worms cringe. "It would be a lot safer." Seeing X she smirked. "Maybe a little safer." 


	9. Part 20

The Cover Up Syndrome Part 20  
  
Roar!  
  
H rolled his eyes. "Zeeltor, either you silence that pet of yours, or leave it."  
  
Zeeltor hugged Lucy's petri dish to him. "No, I'd never leave her." Then he started to baby-talk to his pet to keep silent.  
  
"Why must you tote that thing around? It's not even a real pet. It doesn't even have eyes! And how do you know that it's a her? It reproduces asexually for heaven's sake!"  
  
Zeeltor harrumphed. "Says you. Humans can't sense these things. Isn't that right, Lucy?"  
  
The bacteria roared in reply.  
  
H threw up his hands in exasperation.  
  
N turned around. "Look, I have to agree with H on one thing, Doctor, keep that pet of yours QUIET!" he hissed.  
  
Making sure N had his attention elsewhere, H turned to Zeeltor. "You know, I was never allowed a pet in my day. And I managed my life without one."  
  
"Which is why you're so stressful most of the time," Zeeltor replied simply. "I still find it hard to believe how you said you were just like me back then. What happened?"  
  
"Well you better believe it. I was just as crazy as you were at your age. Those devices that you added your touch to were really my inventions, thank you very much," H retorted haughtingly. "I quite revolutionized the medical field."  
  
"So you haven't updated them, since."  
  
".since the incident with Zed, yes," H said sharply.  
  
Zeeltor blinked. Evidently, he'd hit a tender spot. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that."  
  
H turned around, and Zeeltor was startled by the drastic change in him. His age seemed to reveal itself in his countenance. The malevolence was gone and a haggard expression replaced it. H shook his head. "That was the reason why I was against your radical methods in the first place. In my eyes, you were making the same mistake I had. I just couldn't let you follow my steps."  
  
Zeeltor said nothing but looked to the ground. "Well, it happened," he said dejectedly. "For all we know, Zed is probably gone and Moffat is using his body as a puppet. I never realized.how my inventions could do harm."  
  
H looked at him, as if seeing the Zekklom physician in a new light. "You can't just assume that. Zed is probably suppressed in his mind somewhere." H tried to reassure Zeeltor, but the alien refuse to meet his eyes. Sighing, H leaned closer and said gently, "There's a difference between this situation and mine thirty years ago. You used your inventions to help Zed, I used mine for the sake of knowing they worked or not."  
  
Zeeltor shook his head. "That the thing. You read me wrong. I did exactly what you said you did. The time I 'helped' Jay by doing brain surgery, my eagerness to try out a new device, the Neuro-Analyzer, yes I wanted to help everyone, but not so much as to find out if they worked or not. For example I could have used the standard procedure for treating Zed, but no, I let my pride of my inventions interfere."  
  
Instead of triggering H to reply that he had been right all along, H felt sympathetic toward Zeeltor. He placed a hand on Zeeltor's shoulder. "Well, seems we both need to reconsider our ethics, don't we Doctor?"  
  
Zeeltor looked up in surprise. Was this really the arrogant pompous he had been rivals with? It's strange how fate plays with her subjects.  
  
H gave him a small smile and Zeeltor returned it in double.  
  
"Look, it's nice that you two are getting along and all that," N interrupted. "But we've got a problem here." He jerked his head toward the corridor around the corner.  
  
H and Zeeltor looked at each other and then at the hallway N indicated.  
  
Faced against the walls like common criminals were about 30 agents, all placing their hands on the wall above their head. Y's men searched them, and whatever was found was cast aside unto the growing mound of weapons on the ground, far from the reach of the prisoners.  
  
As the captors continued their search, Y paced about, examining his prisoners with great scrutiny, as one would examine cattle.  
  
There was a small disturbance as one of Y's guards tried to place his hands where they didn't belong. The female agent was not stupid. She kicked him hard in the crotch.  
  
A storm of cynical laughter from her fellow agents rose as the perverted guard crumpled in pain.  
  
Another burly guard was not amused by her antics however. He stepped up to the girl. Judging by his ambling walk, he was definitely drunk. "I'll teach you respect, mink," he growled as he pulled out an Electric Whip.  
  
The woman closed her eyes, ready to take the blow, when.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
The drunk scowled but withdrew as Y took his place before her. "What's your name, sweet thing?"  
  
She glared at him from beneath chestnut bangs. "Go fuck yourself, bastard," she spat.  
  
Y chuckled. "Cute." He addressed his burly comrade, "Put the others in prison, but take this one to my.private chambers."  
  
N gritted his teeth in disgust. Yet there was almost nothing he could do to prevent it. He cursed of Kay's choice to put him with two inexperienced agents who had little or no knowledge of how to handle a weapon.  
  
Zeeltor swallowed. "We cant' just let him do that to her," he pleaded.  
  
H shook his head. "We're outnumbered, and those agents over there are unarmed."  
  
Zeeltor gazed forlornly as the guard seized the chestnut-haired agent. She tried to escape by imbedding her nails into her captor's arm. In response, the guard struck her, and her face began to swell.  
  
There had to be something to use as a distraction, Zeeltor thought desperately. Using themselves was out of the question. They'd be disposed of quickly. His eyes traveled until they landed on the opening in the wall, where repair workers were to install new illumination bulbs. The hall they were in was dimly lit, an overload would.  
  
"N," Zeeltor hissed, then jerked his head toward the construction.  
  
The agent smiled, and nodded. "I like your style, Doc. One interference coming up." He took aim and fired.  
  
Immediately, the hall plunged into darkness and there were shouts and shots as chaos ensued.  
  
"N, H, where are you?" Zeeltor yelled into the din.  
  
H swore. "You can't see us, but we can see you. Your pet's practically a lighthouse."  
  
Glancing down, Zeeltor found that Lucy still had the glow-in-the-dark effect. The green ghostly light filtered through his pocket where he'd place her. An idea hit him. "Just follow the light," he yelled back.  
  
Zeeltor pushed and squeezed himself through a tangle of legs and arms. Elbows jabbed into him, and he would have been crushed beneath the stampede had not H pulled him roughly by the collar.  
  
Yet there seemed to be no end to the dark gauntlet. Disoriented, Zeeltor picked a direction, when suddenly someone gripped his arm.  
  
Zeeltor gasped as the light from his pet revealed the gaunt features of Y. The light shone irregularly on the agent's face, giving it a semblance of a hollow skull.  
  
Y aimed his Carbonizer at Zeeltor's head and cocked it. "Game over, Alien."  
  
"Y, STOP!"  
  
On the fringe of the light, H appeared, clearly out of breath.  
  
The two agents had their eyes locked unto the others.  
  
"Please," H panted. "Don't do this, Y. It doesn't have to be like this."  
  
"The hell it doesn't!" Y snarled, tightening his grip on Zeeltor.  
  
Suddenly the emergency lights turned on, revealing their standoff amid the chaos.  
  
"Y, I've know you since the beginning. We were more than chums, we were.brothers," H said gently. He smiled and chuckled. "Remember how we always tempted the wrath of Alpha with our crazy antics? H swore that he was going bald because of us."  
  
Suspicion bore on Y's face. "The Y you knew never existed," he replied bluntly. "All that was a façade, and you were stupid enough to believe it."  
  
H's face reflected deep pain. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Because," the other hissed. "It is his type," he jerked his head toward Zeeltor, "That sicken me. Every time I had receptionist duty, I had to take the crap those aliens throw at me. I've been insulted, spat upon, and forced to act as a slave. But worse of it all," he continued hotly. "Was their arrogance. I was treated as a dumb beast of burden. This." Pulling up his sleeve he revealed a hideous scar that ran from his wrist to elbow. The arm itself was emancipated and much of the flesh was gone.  
  
H and Zeeltor winced.  
  
Satisfied by their reactions, Y continued. "This was what one group of aliens did to me when they accused me of stealing the Custian Orbs. Even when they discovered that they had stashed it under their ship's seats, they never did apologize and laughed at the absurdity. After all, humans were barely conscious pond scum. Why would a superior life form stoop to treat us as equals? The ARC defended them in court and the case eventually was dropped due to bribery on their part." He laughed madly. "Now it's over. Omega will rid us of the bastards and we will establish our order among the stars."  
  
H shook his head sadly. "You can't assume ALL aliens are like that. It's biased, it's illogical. And it's genocide."  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
"You can't do it!'  
  
"Hell, why not? You're too soft and moralistic," Y mocked.  
  
Sighing, H took a step forward, causing Y to press the gun closer to the paralyzed Zekklom. Zeeltor closed his eyes, his breath coming out in gasps, and he prayed that H knew what he was doing.  
  
"Because it's my fault," H said softly.  
  
Y frowned.  
  
"It was my fault for leaving you in Special Services. I left, caring only for my ambition to work in the Infirmary." H shook his head regretfully. "I'm sorry that the move in position separated us."  
  
Y grinned. "Which is the reason why I'm most grateful that you shown me the true natures of the worthless beings we serve. You've done Omega a great service."  
  
H shook his head. "Y, could you really dismiss our friendship? I know you felt something. Those feelings are true and could never be replaced. All those emotions and experiences, even under the neutralization, are real. The mind forgets, but the heart doesn't."  
  
The other stared back, his countenance reflected an inner struggle. "You don't understand. My past self and my present. I feel as if I lost myself somewhere."  
  
H's lips tightened grimly. "Just because your original nature is egotistical doesn't mean you have to stay that way."  
  
Zeeltor watched with bated breath as Y battled his sanity.  
  
Then, the world shattered. A shot entered the frame and Y was knocked clear off his feet. Slowly, as if someone had hit slow-mo, H watched in horror as Y fell.  
  
"Yavez!" H screamed. Instantly he took his place by his friend's side.  
  
Too distraught by Y's injury, H paid no heed to who fired that shot. However Zeeltor kept his wits about him and saw the Omega droid clinging to the wall.taking aim again, this time on H.  
  
"Oh, no you don't!" Zeeltor shot at it with his Hand Pistol.  
  
The droid sensed it however and fled, and to Zeeltor's surprise and dismay vanished.  
  
Y gripped his side hard, but the crimson flow continued.  
  
H grimaced. "Don't do that," he hissed. He began tearing his sleeves for a make-shift bandage.  
  
But Y placed a bloody hand unto H's. He shook his head grimly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."  
  
H smiled at the apology, but stopped as he realized what Y was really saying. "Damn it, NO! You're not going to. I forbid it!!" he cried.  
  
Tears ran down H's face, and he stifled a sob. In his physician's eye, he could tell that Y had lost too much blood. Neither he nor Zeeltor carried anything to treat the wound. Yet he could not come to terms with the situation.  
  
"Perhaps," Y continued. "It's better this way. I can't live divided. To let me live would mean Omega would get control of me again. So please, Henry, don't make this hard for me."  
  
H looked sadly at Y and reached out a hand. Y took it, and gave it a squeeze. A weak smile crept unto H's lips. "Godspeed, Yavez," he whispered.  
  
"Dasvidanya, Henry." Y allowed himself to lay back. His eyes flickered unto Zeeltor, his lips tightened as if trying to make a decision. "Zeeltor, take care of my chum here. You're probably the only one who puts up with his shit," Y chuckled but stopped and winced in pain. Suddenly his eyes grew wide. "The droid, it's back!"  
  
Zeeltor and H glanced back just as the droid materialized before their eyes in its fearsome splendor. Both fired their weapons, but the shots bounced harmlessly off its armor.  
  
Then just as quickly, it faded away.  
  
H gritted his teeth. It was playing with them.  
  
"Henry! Before you go, end my life." Y jerked his friend's sleeve.  
  
H blinked. "I'm a physician. I can't."  
  
"Then do it for me as a friend. I'm going either way. This will stop Omega from taking my soul," Y pulled desperately. His eyes were pleading.  
  
The other swallowed hard. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small green capsule which Zeeltor identified as the Quick Stop pill. Under its seemingly harmless exterior was enough poison to stop the heart in two seconds. With a quick thrust of the wrist, H popped the pill into Y's awaiting lips.  
  
Tears fell from both of the men's eyes. A silent goodbye and then.  
  
Y swallowed the tablet, just as the droid appeared and snatched up his body, and prepared to repeat the same procedure that Zeeltor had seen before.  
  
And nothing happened. The droid let out ametallic scream, angered that its quarry had eluded it.  
  
H and Zeeltor plunged under the seats that lined the hall. They sheltered themselves, withdrawing their legs and arms from the frantic reach of the droid.  
  
Zeeltor glanced about and his eye caught sight of a sewer cover. "H, over here!" He began to tug on the handle but the cover refused to budge.  
  
Suddenly H let out a yelp as the droid snagged a pant let and began to draw h out. Only by gripping the mount of a chair did H evade capture.  
  
"Hang on!" Zeeltor crawled beside him and began banging on the metallic appendage with the butt of his pistol.  
  
"Forget it!" H yelled. "Get out of here!"  
  
Zeeltor's lips tightened. "NO! I promised Y I'd."  
  
H's grip failed and he felt himself being hauled towards the machine. To his great dismay, Zeeltor had grabbed hold onto him and was being taken on the same ride.  
  
"Daaaammnn yyyouuu, Zeeeellltooorr!" H cried as both were suspended in the air.  
  
An explosive crack filled the air as a comet of blue-white sliced through the air and shattered the appendage that held them. Zeeltor and H plummeted to the ground, and the severed robotic limb clattered beside them, withering spasmodically.  
  
The droid screamed in fury.  
  
H blinked bewilderedly. "What the."  
  
He and Zeeltor turned and saw N, armed with a very strange Carbonizer. N shook his head from behind his gun. "Do I have to save you two every time? Get out of the way!"  
  
The droid focused its lens on N and turned, scuttling away, with N's shots flying past it.  
  
N swore when the droid vanished again. Striding over, he pulled Zeeltor and H from the ground.  
  
"We could have handled it," Zeeltor said sheepishly.  
  
"And you two managed it perfectly," N replied, rolling his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted H stooping to examine the limb. "Hey careful there, Old-timer."  
  
"I want to take this for analysis," H said blandly. With his Icer, he froze the specimen.  
  
Glancing about them, they could see that the fight had abated and fortunately it was the chestnut-haired agent and her group that prevailed and now restraining their captors.  
  
"Move it, everyone," N called sharply. "We still got a whole organization to save." 


End file.
